The local government in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture has passed an ordinance encouraging residents to laugh at least once daily to improve their mental and physical health.
- The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) introduced and passed the law last week.
- The law asks business operators to create a work environment filled with laughter.
- The eighth day of every month has been designated as a “laughing day” for residents to “promote health through laughter”.
- There is no penalty for individuals who fail to laugh daily.
- The law is based on research from Yamagata University’s Faculty of Medicine, which links laughter to improved health and longevity.
- Some opposition lawmakers from the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) have argued that the law is a violation of human rights and that it does not consider those who may have difficulty laughing due to illness or injury.
