I read the depressing article about Food Bank in Tokyo this morning.
Full-time company employees have begun to be seen among those in need who use food banks in Tokyo.
They account for around 20% now.
Full-time employees are paid higher wages than nonregular employees.
They’re considered to have stable employment.
But some of them have been reduced to poverty due to the decline in real wages.
"Food Bank Caravan ” began its activities at Tokyo in 2021.
The group has distributed rice, vegetables and daily necessities.
Mainly single mothers and women working part-time were mainly using their service.
According to their survey In 2022 , 68 persons of the 306 users were regular employees,the percentage exceeded 20%.
Furthermore, according to the survey In 2023, average monthly salary of full-time employees is 223,000 yen ,that is sometimes insufficient for them to live while raising their children.
A 36-year-old man says , “ my monthly take-home pay is only 180,000 yen , that’s not keeping up with the rise in prices. I spend my weekends eating the food I receive here."
Staff member of The Caravan says, “ I feel a sense of crisis in this reality.”
Reading this article, I wonder if Japan is really G7 country.
Maybe we should think more seriously about the problem of poverty.
Urgent and concrete some policies, such as the enhancement of social security and the minimum wage increase, are needed in our society.
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