Japan Press Weekly

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2012 November 14 - 20 [WELFARE]

More people sinking into poverty under DPJ’s rule

In the 2009 general election campaign, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) criticized the then coalition government of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties for having widened the gap between rich and poor, and then took power. However, more and more people have been sinking into poverty during the past 3 years.

The average monthly income of the heads of working families decreased for 3 years in a row. The number of the “working poor” who earn less than 2 million yen a year remains at more than 10 million for 3 straight years.

The number of contingent workers increased from 17.21 million in 2009 to 18.02 million in 2011. The percentage of contingent workers in relation to the total work force also rose from 33.7% to 35.1% in the same period.

The workers who have been out of work for more than one year went up from 950 thousand in 2009 to 1.28 million in 2010. In 2012, 1.05 million workers are still unemployed.

The proportion of households having “zero” savings hit a record high of 28.6% in 2011. It is hovering at a high level of 26.0% in 2012.

It is a serious problem that the disparity between rich and poor has been widening in line with the increasing impoverishment of people.

The average annual income of workers in the private sector who make more than 25 million yen a year was 39.97 million yen in 2009. Two years later, it rose to 41.42 million yen. The number of those who earn over 100 million yen per year went up from 11,107 to 12,750 in the same two-year period.

The DPJ had pledged to substantially raise the minimum wage in its party platform in the general election campaign 3 years ago. After coming to power, the DPJ government broke its promise and has implemented measures increasing social inequality.

The Japanese Communist Party argues that ensuring the stability of employment and allowing wage hikes are absolutely needed for Japan’s economic recovery.