News On Japan

Families Facing Poverty in Japan as Food Prices Soar

TOKYO, Aug 09 (News On Japan) - Many families struggle to maintain a regular diary of their daily lives, especially during the summer break, which is a particularly challenging time. Support organizations like Kids Door, which deliver food to children in need, are seeing an increase in requests for help.

One of the volunteers, Watanabe, spoke about the donations the organization receives, including vegetables and instant food items donated by companies. She also mentioned the difficulty in providing variety in the food, but they strive to make the meals as diverse as possible, given their constraints.

The summer break exacerbates difficulties for families facing poverty. In many cases, there are an increase in calls for help, as families express concern about how they will manage. The organization receives such inquiries even from remote islands, indicating the widespread nature of the problem.

Typically, the organization visits homes once a month, but during the summer break, they increase their visits, sometimes seeing families every week. Watanabe shared her concerns about the growing issues for families with children, particularly those who can’t afford air conditioning during the hot summer months, leading to concerns about their health.

The rising cost of food is hitting struggling families hard. According to a survey by Kids Door, 64% of families reported a shortage of rice, while a total of 93% said they were facing some form of rice shortage. The situation is particularly severe for families with incomes below 1 million yen, where 35% reported that their children's weight had not increased over the past year, and 44% noticed a decline in their children's concentration.

On the other hand, the rise in prices has made it harder for support organizations to gather donations. Even though food from government stockpiles has been distributed, the amount of assistance available is increasingly limited.

In addition, Watanabe's organization is also involved in distributing government stockpiles of rice to about 12,000 households across Japan. She mentioned that the charity had received numerous donations from businesses, which will be distributed as well.

Despite these efforts, families still face significant challenges. Rising food prices mean that families have to make tough decisions about what to cut from their budgets. While rice can still be afforded, meat and other essentials are increasingly out of reach for many.

Summer breaks without school meals are placing even more strain on families, who are being forced into even tighter financial situations. Watanabe emphasized that the increased poverty levels are making it harder for children to grow properly, with many children experiencing reduced food intake.

As a result, the situation is becoming critical, especially for families where parents work non-regular jobs. A survey conducted by Kids Door revealed that 81% of parents reported a reduction in the amount of food at home, while 84% said the quality of food had worsened.

Unfortunately, wage increases have not kept pace with inflation, and families with non-regular workers are particularly affected. While 30% of households have seen a wage increase, it has not been enough to cover the increased cost of living. Many families, particularly those working for small businesses, are still struggling to make ends meet.

Source: テレ東BIZ

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Vast hillsides have been cleared for the construction of a large-scale solar power facility in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, leaving piles of felled trees scattered across the slopes. The development covers approximately 146 hectares, or the size of 32 Tokyo Domes, and involves cutting down about 365,000 trees to make way for 470,000 solar panels.

Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa held a closed-door meeting with all city council members on October 2nd to explain her repeated hotel meetings with a married senior city official, but afterward she avoided stating whether she would resign.

A two-story wooden house collapsed in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward on the night of September 30th, with experts suggesting that the ground beneath the property, rather than the building itself, gave way, likely due to a cracked retaining wall.

Heavy rainfall battered parts of Hokkaido, with some areas receiving more than a month’s worth of precipitation in only six hours, prompting flood warnings and evacuation advisories. Meteorologists are saying the downpour was the result of a combination of unstable atmospheric conditions and moist air flowing in from the sea.

Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture has approved the introduction of a bathing tax, but the measure is drawing strong criticism from local hot spring operators since only two facilities fall under the new levy.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Imperial Household Agency announced on October 2nd, cancelling her scheduled trip to Shiga Prefecture on October 5th and 6th to observe the National Sports Festival.

A man in his 60s was found bleeding and collapsed inside a cattle barn in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture on the morning of October 2nd, later dying after his condition suddenly worsened.

A woman in her 30s was found dead with multiple stab wounds in Higashi-Osaka after a man who claimed to have stabbed someone turned himself in at a local police station.

Today, we'll be looking at some CRAZY Japanese tattoos that foreigners got! Even Ariana Grande got a really bad tattoo! They're so weird and don't make sense at all! (Mrs Eats)

Osaka Prefecture has revised its ordinance to set a cap of 100,000 yen per day on ATM transfers made with cash cards by certain elderly account holders, marking the first such restriction in Japan.

Japan's National Police Agency and Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department launched a new structure on October 1st to pursue the leaders of the so-called Tokuryu, an 'anonymous and fluid' crime group responsible for large-scale fraud and violent robberies linked to black-market recruitment.

A Spanish tourist in Japan has become the subject of widespread criticism after a series of videos showed him pushing a passenger on a train, firing fireworks at a karaoke shop, and intruding into a shrine, with condemnation spreading even to his home country.

A hairdresser operating a salon in Tokyo’s Omotesando district has been arrested on suspicion of luring a female client into the restroom and committing indecent acts, raising questions about how a well-known stylist with a large clientele carried out such conduct.