Make people laugh -- that should make the economy better and lead to a bright future for Japan, according to Masao Kimura, board director of the Osaka-based major entertainment firm Yoshimoto Kogyo Co.
"Japan, by any standard, is a rich and safe country," he said. "But Japanese people just don't look happy, and I often wonder what they have to complain about. They're not laughing enough."
Kimura, 54, is an advocate of "gross happiness product" -- an indicator for people's happiness -- to replace the gross domestic product, the current key gauge for economic growth. When the GHP rises, he said, it will eventually boost the economy.