Society Six in ten Japanese households struggle to cover living expenses

[thomas]

Nearly 60% of households in Japan reported financial hardship last year, reflecting continued pressure from rising living costs. The findings, based on a survey by the Ministry of Welfare and released on 4 July, comprise responses from approximately 7,000 households nationwide, collected around the same time as the previous year.

In total, 58.9% of households reported struggling to make ends meet. Of these, 28.0% described their situation as "very difficult," while 30.9% said it was "somewhat difficult." The latest figures indicate only a slight improvement from the 2023 survey, when 59.6% of households reported difficulty, with 26.5% stating their circumstances were challenging and 33.1% finding them somewhat difficult.

Among households headed by elderly persons, 55.8 percent responded that they were struggling, down 3.2 percentage points from the previous survey. Among households with children, 64.3 percent, down 0.7 point from 2023, said they face hardship, of which 33.9 percent, up 5.4 points, answered that they were in serious hardship. The average annual income per household in 2023 was 5.36 million yen ($37,093), 2.3 percent higher than in 2022. Estimates based on a survey of approximately 61,000 households showed that 18,995,000 households, or 34.6 percent of the total, were single-person entities, the largest number since the survey began in 1986.

60% of Japanese households struggling to make ends meet | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Maciamo]

That's worrying as it is considerably higher than in Europe. According to a survey from early 2024 found that 30% of EU respondents reported difficulty making ends meet. It was highest in countries like Greece, Bulgaria and Romania but still lower than in Japan. Greece was the highest at 55%. In contrast it was only about 20% in France and in the UK, and 17% in Germany.

 

[Ukigumo]

These data are self-reported and thus highly subjective. I feel very much poorer than when I was working several years ago, but now I've given up working, I'm doing alright in the big scheme of things.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I wonder what makes people feel that way (other than the rocketing price of rice)? Too bad the article didn't get into a little more detail that way.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

My wife (who pays all the bills) constantly worries about going broke even though we are OK with a big 401K and good monthly social security payments . I think it's the rising costs that affect everything and never seem to slow down make people worry.. We tend to remember back 10 or 20 years ago when the cost of living was so much cheaper and more stable(slower rising) ;that makes us worry more comparing it to today. Maybe it's seeing all the rich people on the internet and in the media that make us feel poor?

 

[mdchachi]

My wife (who pays all the bills) constantly worries about going broke even though we are OK with a big 401K and good monthly social security payments . I think it's the rising costs that affect everything and never seem to slow down make people worry.. We tend to remember back 10 or 20 years ago when the cost of living was so much cheaper and more stable(slower rising) ;that makes us worry more comparing it to today. Maybe it's seeing all the rich people on the internet and in the media that make us feel poor?

"big" can quickly become small depending on one's circumstances. We put my mom in assisted living this year, the best we could find. Cost is $7500/month. Her modest savings should last to the end but there may not be much left over.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I'm glad Maine has euthanasia and I would jump through all the hoops to use it rather than leave my wife broke. If there is a "next life" , I'm really curious to check it out. Maybe staying with all my patients until they died has lessened my fear of death?

 

[mdchachi]

I'm glad Maine has euthanasia and I would jump through all the hoops to use it rather than leave my wife broke. If there is a "next life" , I'm really curious to check it out. Maybe staying with all my patients until they died has lessened my fear of death?

Perhaps. There seems to be a real lack of self-awareness when it comes to dementia. My Mom knows her memory is severely debilitated but we've never had a conversation that clearly laid out her condition or prognosis. Though at this point she wouldn't remember any discussions about it. Thankfully she knows who she is and remembers her family members.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

It seemed all my patients with dementia and Alzheimer's dealt with it OK , but friends and family usually had a very hard time dealing with it. I had one wife that was always very upset with what her husband said and did. Within a few weeks she had a heart attack and died during one of her bursts of anger at him. Home care & nursing care is so expensive , many families are left to try and handle it on their own.