50% of single-parent households in Japan struggle financially: study

Japan's child poverty rate is high relative to other major economies, 

No kidding! When the majority of social welfare services are targeted towards senior citizens (active LDP voters) and what social services are available are difficult to get because folks in the city office's are not openly forth coming with pertinent information they need.

Not to mention not forcing single parents to accept child support payments.

Some of these situations could be improved a lot, if the child support was paid!

When asked about their current lifestyle, 51.8 percent of single-parent households said they had some degree of economic hardship, more than double the 25.3 percent of total respondents that said likewise, according to the study conducted between February and March this year.

To acknowledge this for the LDP would be a shame. Instead, let's have a spectatorless Olympics in a pandemic and subsidize tourism in a pandemic.

It will show what a carefree, strong and wealthy country we are!

And what about the people that don't have children or are pregnant.

Why is the government not supporting the rest of the population ?

I would have thought they were all suffering, how the heck can you work and raise kids?

japan government should prohibit the gambling about pachinko, hose racing, boat racing, lot etc. i think it make the poor family.

Unsurprising considering the lack of enforcement behind child support, lack of welfare resources, the non-existence of joint custody, and women not being offered full-time positions with benefits - all of which are exacerbated by a culture that looks poorly at single parent households. Got to change the culture and mentality to see improvement.

The Japanese Government is to blame 100% by not doing their jobs effectively and efficiently. They play politics so well that the finger pointing becomes an art form. This headline is so obvious that when I read it the first time, I could not believe that it's an article or news story because we all know this as fact ~ over the last two years. I do not have any children however know many Japanese single parents struggle every day waiting for their [dare I say] Government Of The People offering assistance to the people who pay their Government salaries. I wish we could fire Government staff and the Prime Minister if they do not do their jobs well.

I wish there is a way to find some of these people. I would personally help 1 or 2 of the families that can not afford food. Sadly because of the embarrassment involved they stay very quiet. If anyone knows of a site or place I could do that please post it. Not looking to donate to a charity that takes salaries but rather 1 or 2 individuals to directly help out.

Did they REALLY need a study to know this?

Spend a little less on social services for "certain groups in less need" and maybe there'd be more money to go around.

Let me put this here quickly:

Markets could react negatively if they take (the new capitalism policy) as being socialist," Abe said during the TV program. "We shouldn't be viewed as moving our focus from growth.

So now you at least know the reason why Japanese children can't afford food, because that never was the focus.

Also if Japanese people read this: are you satisfied now? Is this the plan? You keep voting for the same @holes until everyone lives in poverty? Or what exactly is so compelling about the LDP?

50 percent, where my bag of salt.

It is far higher than 50%.

There was a report on TV about two weeks ago about the city of Ichikawa in Chiba with a pop of close to 500K having 40K households with an income below 2000K, extrapolate it to the whole nation and you get a general picture of the dire situation that a lot of people are living it. Some women cannot even afford sanitation goods even.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

- Albert Einstein

There are many dual-parent households with children who are also struggling.

One or both in irregular employment with little to no benefits, rent/ mortgages, utilities, healthcare and pension payments, then food and education. The minimum wage that many earn is pitiful.

Did they REALLY need a study to know this?

Yes so they can use it to justify that they are "looking into the matter" when in reality this is as much as they're willing to do. Japan loves its stats but for them it's like stamp collecting - collect and let the collection collect dust.

50% of single-parent households in Japan struggle financially: study

A lot of information is missing here, for example how many single-parent households are in all Japan, how high is their income, how many children and how old are they, and how much do these households have to spend for rent/loans and why are they single-parent households...and also where they are located, likely most of them in the large cities I guess.

It is true as mentioned in the comment above that there are also many dual-parent households with children who struggle, they need a larger home which costs more money, some fathers might be jobless and so on.

About single households, likely a mother with a child, I wonder why they do not try to find a reliable partner again, as together it is still in general easier than being alone. There are many single Japanese men of all age who are lonely and cannot find a female partner.

eiganofunToday 08:25 am JST

japan government should prohibit the gambling about pachinko, hose racing, boat racing, lot etc. i think it make the poor family.

True, many Japanese low-income people, men and women, are wasting a horrible amount of money for pachinko in all Japan. To close down these parlors would surely help many families, single and dual households, to spend their money for other more useful things.

Also helpful would be to consider the amount which families are spending for alcohol and cigarettes and otherwise useless items.

People shouldn't forget that the debt could have also been carried over from the divorced parent (example: newly purchased appliances before the divorce, expensive instruments for the child, etc). If the parent whom took custody of the child kept all the appliances, then the debt comes along with it if the other half runs off. The cause of debt isn't always gambling. Also, if times are tough and your child needs an extra xxx yen for something the school needs, then you are left no choice but to either borrow from your own parents, or go to those shady card loan places. The debt cycle in Japan is quite hard to get out of because of how the credit system works here. It's like an endless loop with no end.

This is because child support and joint custody are not mandated in Japan. In most cases the father is ostracized by his ex and cut off from his kids. Many ex-wives demand money from their former spouse but there is no law to make them pay. My ex-wife demanded stupid amounts of money (¥3,000 per hour, per child) for visitation.

51.8 percent of single-parent households said they had some degree of economic hardship

Regardless of marital or parental status, do you come across many Japanese who do not claim to have “some degree of economic hardship”?

About single households, likely a mother with a child, I wonder why they do not try to find a reliable partner again, as together it is still in general easier than being alone. There are many single Japanese men of all age who are lonely and cannot find a female partner.

A lot are actually living with their partner but are officially divorced so that they can both collect welfare. The "real" single parents suffer while the scammers eat yakiniku and play pachinko off our tax money.

And all the other households struggling with too less money…

longfortherideToday  09:10 am JST

I wish there is a way to find some of these people. I would personally help 1 or 2 of the families that can not afford food. Sadly because of the embarrassment involved they stay very quiet. If anyone knows of a site or place I could do that please post it. Not looking to donate to a charity that takes salaries but rather 1 or 2 individuals to directly help out.

*4 **( +5 / -1 )*

Really find it hard to believe some cold- hearted person had the gall to down-vote you for that- Well done, whomever you are: Your anonymity shines bright.

Japan has to be one of the least generous, charitably-minded nations I've ever been to. Happy to throw money into the boxes at temples and shrines and pay for ceremonies held by the mercedes-driving priests, whilst holding the manifestly false belief that the govt. take care of those in need.

Catch 22 connivance on a nationwide scale and, as the last couple of years has demonstrated, it's a slippery slope.

Even if the poverty is high there, most of them don't have any intention to do crime, unlike in other developed nations where teenagers are wild and dirty.

あたりまえ! Globally true. Not to mention at the very least 50% of two-parent families are struggling also. Kind of a 'duh' thing.

Not to mention at the very least 50% of two-parent families are struggling also. Kind of a 'duh' thing.

Really? You honestly think that dual parent households have the same percentage as single parent households that are struggling?

I think perhaps you should meet some single parents and learn facts.

As a single father my Ex gave zero support despite making 4 times more than, I did, I was also fired from several jobs for either not being able to go in or having to leave because my children were sick.

One place gave me the choice go to the hospital where my son was rushed to and was going into an emergency surgery and be fired or remain at work. I chose my son's wellbeing.

A dual parent households at least one parent can remain home or respond to emergencies, making it far less likely that the household has zero income.

Dual parent households have the possibility of 2 incomes and at least one full time care taker if needed, not an option with single parent households.

The obvious problem people are not addressing is that if you are living in poverty before having children, your situation AFTER having children will be much worse.

The government should either provide free contraception for the poor and discourage them from having children they cannot afford.

And their elected leaders wastes money on abemasks, Olympics, donating money to poor countries etc. Such pathetic leadership on display.

The Japanese need to retire their lazy politicians-this country has too many snouts in the trough!

zichiToday  05:40 pm JST

The country needs all the children it can produce. Falling birth rates.

The country doesn't- The safeguarded members of the unbending and unrelenting system do, to put off overhauling their superannuated approach to the modern world, maintaining their positions at the expense of the rest of the country, present and future.

For single parents, it's a double whammy: They can see the future hardships ahead for their children.

zichiToday  05:40 pm JST

The country needs all the children it can produce. Falling birth rates.

0rei0

The country doesn't- The safeguarded members of the unbending and unrelenting system do, to put off overhauling their superannuated approach to the modern world, maintaining their positions at the expense of the rest of the country, present and future.

Oh now that’s a nice one!

Some folks never get it.

These days it is not true to say that child support is difficult to get in Japan.

The person with child custody can easily obtain a child support order by the familly court (it takes only a few months).

Once this order is in place, if the person who is supposed to pay is only a few days late, the receiver of the child support can in about à week get a decision from the court ordering the company of the debtor to withdraw the child support from his salary. This is incredibly fast compare to other countries.

@Zichi

I think you mean Universal Basic Income.

Children shouldn't need to be needed or used for the past imprudence of older generations.

The elderly continually voted in and continue to vote in aged, incompetent politicians, for the sole purpose of safeguarding their contributions and guaranteeing a comfortable return: It's not the fault or responsibility of future generations to prop up a decrepit system that frittered away the nations wealth with no forethought.

About single households, likely a mother with a child, I wonder why they do not try to find a reliable partner again

Lol, yeah I wonder why... Might be easier said than done

Bradley...

Instead of that why not provide them with an income they can live on, decent support from various organisations, health care and so forth as well as a good education for their children. Your suggestion lacks empathy.

Not lacking empathy, nor realism. The government is never going to fund poverty stricken parents. So we shouldn't be encouraging them to have children they cannot feed, clothe or educate.

The government should either provide free contraception for the poor and discourage them from having children they cannot afford.

Instead of that why not provide them with an income they can live on, decent support from various organisations, health care and so forth as well as a good education for their children.

Or even both! It doesn't have to be one or the other.

About single households, likely a mother with a child, I wonder why they do not try to find a reliable partner again, as together it is still in general easier than being alone.

“If you don’t wanna be poor, just go marry someone”. That’s gotta be right up there with “Just stop choosing to be poor” on the list of stupidest plans to get out of poverty.

Did you ever stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, marrying someone solely for financial reasons might not be the best foundation for a living relationship? Did it ever occur to you that this exact situation is one of the reasons so many women wind up becoming trapped in abusive relationships, where they have to choose between subjecting themselves to abuse or being left destitute?

C’mon. No one but a guy would ever respond to a single mother in dire financial straits with “Just go get married”. Though I’ll admit, that response is very, very Japanese.

30% of population are over 65 years of age and this demographic is the mostly likely to vote and to be encouraged to vote. They are in also in the same age bracket as most politicans here, so of course this is the demographic upon which the government focuses on.

With just 12% (and rapidly falling) under the age of 14 you shouldn't expect the focus of policy to change any time soon, especially since this demographic can't vote.

This is one of the solutions by the way: Go to school? Should have right of suffrage. Why can a 90-year-old vote, but not a ten-year-old? Or a 95-year-old, and not a five -year-old?

kids from single parent families are often lonely and do not have enough to eat or eating unhealthy as their parent are working... there are Kodomo-Shokudo that provides free meals, a safe place for kids to play and study after meals. The Kodomo-Shokudo are funded by donations and staffed by volunteers. There are many Kodomo-Shokudo programs around Japan so if interested in helping them out, you can search for your nearest Kodomo-Shokudo. They are doing great things for our society!