May 13, 2018

Half of disabled people aged under 64 live on an income of less than 90,000 yen a month. This was shown in survey results released by the Welfare Ministry in April.

The survey was conducted in December 2016. The ministry collected questionnaires from about 7,200 people with disabilities. Survey items included questions regarding actual living conditions and the use of welfare services.

In the survey, regarding a question about income, 53.1% of the respondents aged between 18 and 64 years earned less than 90,000 yen a month. The percentage went down to 32.4% among the respondents aged 65 years and over as they receive pension benefits.

The percentage of those who rely on public welfare assistance stood at 8.6% among the respondents in the 18-64 age group, followed by 4.1% among those who are 65 years old or over and 3% among disabled under 18 years old, which are high compared with the norm. Another Welfare Ministry survey showed that in December 2016, the percentage of welfare recipients across Japan was 1.69% on average.

Past related articles:
> More and more disabled persons rely on welfare assistance [April 8, 2018]
> 80% of disabled persons live below poverty line: civil group data [May 26 & 29, 2016]