Struggling households in Japan suffer from soaring prices
Financially struggling households in Japan cannot afford to buy enough food due to soaring prices, a recent survey by Save the Children Japan, a nonprofit organisation, showed.
The survey was conducted online in June. It received responses from 7,856 people from child-rearing households with relatively low income who applied for the group's feeding program. Of the total, 94.9 % were single-parent families.
In the survey, with multiple answers allowed, 90.7 % of respondents, the largest proportion, said that they cannot afford to buy enough food because their prices are too high.
The survey also found that 65.3 % were concerned about food expenses during long holidays with no school lunches, and that 55.9 % complained of low wages.
About three-fourths of respondents said they ate less rice than they did last year. Asked about how to finance food purchases, 55.7 % said that they reduced spending on others, 25.8 % tapped into their savings, and 8.9 % borrowed money.
"Public support is needed to help households in need receive food stably," said Sonoko Kawakami, chief of Save the Children Japan's domestic programs.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
