ABSTRACT
This chapter offers diverse approaches to the well-being of different social groups of Japanese: men, women, married and single, homosexual and heterosexual, young and old, children, parents and grandparents, as well as members of (organized) social groups, be they political parties, volunteer organizations, minority groups, football clubs, or patrons in cocktail bars. Mathews argues that the inflexibilities of structures and norms that characterized Japanese society and the social scientific discourse on it have loosened over the last few decades. The idea that relatedness and social networks, so the ties that bind people within their families, communities and circles of friends, are beneficial to a person's happiness and well-being, is undisputed. The interplay between psychological factors, such as personalities, genetic dispositions, cultural variabilities, macro-structural and institutional frames, as well as personal experiences and values have to be considered, and happiness must be studied in its temporal, fluid or ephemeral state and in its long-term evaluation, usually termed life satisfaction.
