Although Japan enjoys the status of being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly weakened its economy with the income of the middle class starting to shrink.
Despite being strong, Japan’s economy, as is the case in almost every country, has been seriously hit by the global pandemic which has pushed many Japanese into poverty. The country’s projected GDP had dropped almost 5% in 2020, with over 10 million people in Japan living on less than US$19,000 a year, with one out of six living in relative poverty.
Throughout the pandemic, Japan has not experienced tough restrictions or a high death toll (5,400 people had died due to coronavirus as of January 28th, 2021. However, its employment market has shrunk leaving many without jobs, particularly temporary workers.
Whilst the Japanese unemployment rate is below 3%, this number fails to reflect the real situation faced by many workers because 40% of all Japanese employees work without regular employment and on temporary contracts. These can easily be terminated at any time and pay low wages which have been further reduced during the pandemic.
Moreover, the Japanese cannot rely on any form of support from the state since the country’s welfare system focuses on supporting families rather than individuals. However, there is also a major cultural obstacle that prevents many of those in need applying for welfare assistance.
In Japan, this is a matter of dignity – since being the recipient of welfare is perceived in a very negative light, and citizens, therefore, prefer to live in worsening conditions or work harder rather than ask the state for help.
Nevertheless, the number of those seeking assistance is constantly growing as, within the last six months, half a million Japanese have lost their jobs. Thus, long lines of people queueing to obtain food, clothes, sleeping bags, or medical help are not a rare sight in Tokyo anymore.
They are helped by non-governmental organizations such as Tenohasi, which helps the homeless to find shelter and organizes food and other supplies for them. While before the pandemic, the sight of homeless people on Japanese streets was rather a rarity, nowadays this has changed with many people, especially in the winter months, forced to sleep at train stations or in cardboard boxes. There are also instances of starvation.
Those worst affected by the turmoil experienced on the employment front are women as many were employed on temporary contracts in retail, restaurants, or hotels – industries that have all been hit hard by the pandemic. They are also less willing to seek help and join the men waiting in line to receive free food. However, aid organizations volunteers point out that more women with children are seen in locations where help is distributed.
Along with the increasing level of poverty and unemployment, Japanese society is experiencing other problems which are actually the side effects of these issues whereby Japan has recorded a significant growth in its suicide rate. Although the country has struggled with high suicidal rates for many years, 2020 broke all records in terms of numbers. After decreasing in recent years before the onset of the pandemic, Japan has recorded the highest increase since May 2015. In October 2020, 2,153 people committed suicide which was more than the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the first ten months of 2020.
At the same time, the Japan Research Institute is expecting a significant decrease in the number of births. In 2020 Japan saw the lowest number of births for 120 years which was when data first became available with only 845,000 babies being born and this figure may drop below 800,000 in 2021.
