1. The story “Tough Times in Japan,” which appeared in the February 9, 2003 issue of Parade
magazine, contained various statistics purporting to illustrate tough economic times in that
country. The article included the following sentence: “A recent survey by Japan’s Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare indicates that as many as 60% of all households now have annual
incomes below the national average of $52,339.” Explain why it would not be surprising to find
that more than half of all households have annual incomes below the national average, even if a
country was not having tough economic times.