Each year, fires in the United States cause $ 12 billion in property losses, insurance costs, fire-fighting expenses, and loss of worker productivity. These fire losses are seven times those in Japan on a per capita basis.

Inferences:
Fires in the United States cause big money losses, accounting to $12 billion.
These include property losses, insurance costs, fire-fighting expenses, and workers productivity.
This means that if there were no fire in the United States, there wouldn’t be $12 billion property losses, insurance costs, fire-fighting expenses and of course the workers productivity would be high.
So if the United states has cumulative $12 billion loss, Japan has $12/7 billion loss. It is roughly around $1.8 billion.
These estimates are based on GDP per capita.

Which of the following, if true, would be LEAST likely to be a factor contributing to the difference between fire losses in Japan and those in the United States?

Inferences:
There is a difference of monetary loss between the USA and Japan.
There are many factors that can increase or stabilize the difference.
They are asking us to choose a factor that is LEAST likely to be a factor in contributing the difference.
Or in turn, they are asking what is the factor that is diminishing the difference.

A. Significantly more money per capita is spent each year on fire-prevention efforts in the United States than is spent on such efforts in Japan.

If more money per capita is spent in the United States as compared to Japan, then the difference would have decreased or the equation would have reversed.

B. The rate of arson, a major contributor to fire statistics in the United States, is almost negligible in Japan.

If the rate of people setting up fires in Japan is negligible, then of course the difference will increase more as.

C. Most Japanese homes, unlike those in the United States, are equipped with specially designed and effective fire-extinguishing equipment.

This answer choice is giving justification as to why Japan has low rates of fire in their country. This is stabilizing and justifying the difference between them.

D. Foam-based and plastic furniture, less popular in Japan than in the United States, ignites readily and releases twice the heat energy of equivalent weights of natural fibers.

This answer choice is another reason as to why Japan is so low on fire. Because it does not provide a catalyst to fire accidents and thus fire is more controllable.

E. Japanese fire departments devote proportionately more personnel time to inspection, training, and public education than do United States fire departments.

This answer choice again stabilizes the difference between the number of USA and Japan. It is justifying that difference. If Japanese had a better Fire extinguisher men would automatically say that Japan is better at fighting off the fire.

Easy A as it is the only opposite
Rest all provide justifiable reason to given outcome

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