Japan Press Weekly

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2013 January 23 - 29 TOP3 [WELFARE]

Welfare benefits recipients barely able to survive

While the Abe Cabinet is moving to cut livelihood protection benefits, the very lifeline for many needy people, many benefit recipients say that even now they have difficulties in making ends meet.

“If the payments are reduced, there is no way we can survive,” said a 26-year-old mother of two girls in Kawasaki City.

Since her husband suffers from schizophrenia and cannot work, she works five days a week at a food factory to receive a 50,000 yen month salary. Last year, the family started to receive 210,000 yen a month in livelihood protection benefits.

Every month the couple pays 70,000 yen for rent and 30,000 to 40,000 yen for utilities. At the end of last year, their one-year-old daughter had a high fever and had to be admitted to hospital for 10 days. In addition to medical expenses, they had to spend about 50,000 yen for her care, including the cost for transportation to the hospital.

Another welfare benefit recipient in Kawasaki City, a 51-year-old man lives with his wife and son who is in the 2nd grade in high school. Suffering from heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and shaking of limbs, the man was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and sees a doctor regularly. His wife, 46, suffers from depression and cannot leave her bed.

The family’s monthly income is made up of 100,000 yen in welfare benefits and 150,000 yen in disability pension benefits for the wife. Their rent is 120,000 yen a month. They have to minimize their food costs and take a shower only once or twice a week.

The man said that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan “only has the perspective of the rich and has no idea what kind of living conditions disease sufferers like us have.”

“I’m very careful with the use of utilities and try not to make phone calls as much as I can, but I’m still struggling. The only expense I can cut back more on is for food.” Fujioka Narumi, 65, revealed how hard her everyday life is even though she receives livelihood protection benefits when she spoke on January 24 at a rally in the Diet building, hosted by the National Association for Safeguarding People’s Life and Health (Zenseiren).

Living in Higashi-Hiroshima City, she suffers from asthma and has to take medicine regularly.

“The Abe cabinet is moving to raise prices by 2% as a way to overcome the deflation. If it also cuts welfare benefits and increases the consumption tax rate as it proposes, we won’t be able to survive,” Fujioka lamented.