From Homo erectus to the present day - more than a million years of history in just one year of lessons. That is how, at the age of 14, I first learned of Japan's relations with the outside world. flowergirl’blog

For three hours a week - 105 hours over the year - we edged towards the 20th Century.

It's hardly surprising that some classes, in some schools, never get there, and are told by teachers to finish the book in their spare time.flower2

When I returned recently to my old school, Sacred Heart in Tokyo, teachers told me they often have to start hurrying, near the end of the year, to make sure they have time for World War II.flower2

"When I joined Sacred Heart as a teacher, I was asked by the principal to make sure that I teach all the way up to modern history," says my history teacher from Year Eight.

"We have strong ties with our sister schools in the Asian region so we want our students to understand Japan's historical relationship with our neighbouring countries." 喧嚣的尘世

I still remember her telling the class, 17 years ago, about the importance of Japan's war history and making the point that many of today's geopolitical tensions stem from what happened then. floweregirl

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For while other countries have struck oil and then binged on the revenues, by contrast Norway is continuing to invest its oil and gas money in a giant sovereign wealth fund香港如新


We trust the government, we believe our tax money will be spent wisely”

Prof Alexander Cappelen Norway School of Economics香港如新

The fund, worth about $800bn (£483bn), owns 1% of the entire world's stocks, and is big enough to make every citizen a millionaire in the country's currency, the kroner. In effect, it is a giant savings account.

And most Norwegians are seemingly very content with this - according to a 2012 study by New York's Columbia University Norway is one of the world's happiest countries.

"We had to invest a lot of money before we could spend anything," says Prof Alexander Cappelen, from the Norway School of Economics, explaining why the country has apparently avoided the pitfalls of vast wealth.

"In other countries the oil is much easier to extract, so they got the money straight away.

"We were put in the right mindset by knowing it was a long-term plan."
Trusting the government

So, no spending bonanza for Norway. In fact there is a closely followed guideline that only 4% of the surplus from the fund is spent or invested in public projects.香港如新

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