The Best Country
The typical Finnish reaction to such research results is that there must be something wrong with the whole study. But when Finland, nearly without exception, is placed to the top of several different comparisons, there must be something good about our country after all.
This autumn I am going to leave this word’s best country and move to Japan, the ninth best country in the world, together with my family. My task there will continue to be in spreading good news from Finland. So, what should I tell about my country over there?
Our PISA miracle story is definitely our strongest asset, but everyone knows that already. Perhaps I will mention that Finland has still only very little corruption. In Japan politicians often resign due to their economic vagueness. In political conditions Finland scored ninth, and Japan 25th.
In the healthcare sector Finnish wellbeing services have successfully been exported to Japan, but in this the Finns have more to learn from the Japanese, who scored world’s first in healthcare, while Finland remained behind on the 17th Place.
In Japan gender roles are in a different era than over here in Finland. Women take care of the children while their business husbands call the scarce family time spent as ‘family service’. My intention is to tell the Japanese men more about equalizing Finland, and share from my own experience of the daddy month and family leave.
There is so much good to tell. Hopefully I will have enough time to tell all the good news from our best country in those few years that I will be away.
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