Poverty

Current status

“Child Poverty” is currently one of the major issues surrounding children in Japan. According to the 2018 data of the National Survey of Living Standards conducted every three years by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the “child poverty rate” in Japanese society is 13.5%, which means that approximately 1 in 7.4 children are living in poverty. The issue of "child poverty" is clearly stipulated to be resolved based on Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other articles of the Convention. Japan, as one of the member countries of the Convention, has taken various measures to improve the situation, but has yet to reach a solution. For further details on this article, please refer to the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” page.

About “Child Poverty Rate”

The “child poverty rate” is calculated based on the “relative poverty rate.” The “relative poverty rate” is simply explained as “how many people in Japan are in a state of relative poverty.”

“Absolute poverty” and “Relative poverty”

Here is an explanation of what it means to be in “relative poverty”. When discussing the topic of “child poverty” in Japan, the definition of the word “poverty” often refers to a state of “relative poverty” rather than “absolute poverty.” Absolute poverty is defined as a situation in which a person does not have the bare necessities of life, such as clothing, food, shelter from rain and wind, clean and safe drinking water, a good healthcare system, a disease-free and healthy life, education that enables people to read and write, sustainable employment, etc., which are necessary for daily life. It refers to a state in which people do not have the minimum necessities of life and cannot even make it through each and every day of their lives. Relative poverty, on the other hand, refers to a situation in which a person's income is so low compared to the average and normal standard of living in the country in which he or she lives that it is extremely difficult to lead an average life in that country.

In other words, comparing the two, the former's problem focuses on the “life or death” dimension, while the latter has solved the “life or death” dimension, but the problem of poverty focuses on the next dimension, “whether or not one can live a stable life.”

Awareness of this issue in Japan

The problem of “child poverty” in Japan, which is based on “relative poverty,” has not surfaced as a social problem as much as the problem of “child poverty” based on “absolute poverty” in other countries in the world (especially developing countries), a serious situation exists. This is because the “life or death” dimension of the problem has been resolved, as described above, compared to “absolute poverty,” “relative poverty” is hardly noticed and overlooked by those around them.

If this problem continues to be left…

If this problem continues to be left, it is likely that various types of secondary damaging problems will occur.

It is not hard to imagine, for example, that this could have a tremendous impact on the aspect of children's education. Children from households living in poverty may be at a greater disadvantage than children from households with average incomes in terms of educational opportunities. For example, the lack of access to cram schools, prep schools, and other systems that can be used for higher education and help with study may ultimately lead to an “academic disparity.” (For a more detailed discussion of this issue, please refer to the “Educational Gap” page.) Other factors may include a lack of access to the many interesting, enriching, and meaningful life and social experiences that children from average-income households receive, and the fear that poverty may lead to isolation from community and social interaction.

It is feared that these problems may ultimately result in one conclusion. That is the “intergenerational cycle of poverty.” If this situation continues and becomes normalized on a permanent basis, the spread of wealth and poverty will grow day by day, and there is a danger that it will eventually lead to economic polarization and a fixed distribution of income and wealth.

Improvements

Effective measures to improve this problem continue to be pondered daily from various people in various positions and from multiple perspectives. However, it appears that we are still a long way from a fundamental solution. However, from a long-term perspective, there are some measures that may gradually lead to a solution.

Bold budget increase planning

We believe that an effective solution is to increase the budget related to childcare. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the simplest possible solutions. As mentioned above, it is quite possible that the “intergenerational cycle of household poverty” is a kind of factor in creating the current “child poverty.” In order to break this cycle, for example, a system in which a woman can obtain a large amount of childcare benefits after giving birth and use them for childcare, or a system in which women can receive discounts at various facilities when they are raising children, would be effective. At the same time, it is necessary to establish laws and penalties to prevent people from abusing the system and neglecting their children. In addition to eliminating budget waste, it is also important to review the breakdown of the budget, brushing it up to match the social structure of today's society.

Expansion of current system

Currently, Japan provides a child support allowance to single-parent families and households with a parent with disabilities, which are the most common causes of poverty, as well as a loan system for living funds that can be used for a variety of purposes. However, as can be seen from the current status of the “poverty” problem, these programs have not yet reached a drastic and fundamental solution to the problem. However, in the sense that they can be dealt with immediately, expanding these systems may be a kind of effective measure. Of course, this will probably not solve the “poverty” problem all at once, but at least the scale of the problem will be smaller than it is now.

Review of local communities

Another way to improve the situation would be to strengthen community connections. In recent years, the concept of community involvement has been discouraged and diluted in Japanese society due to the influence of individualism and other factors. We believe that this is one of the reasons why the issue of “poverty” (especially “relative poverty”) is surprisingly overlooked in today's Japanese society. Therefore, we suggest that one of the ways to quickly identify the situation of “poverty” is to reestablish and deepen the ties and community within the local community, and to become familiar with each other, so that the entire community can explore and develop a path toward improving the situation. In a sense, this is an effective improvement measure that, although indirect, can gradually move the problem toward a solution.