Poor Families in Today's Japan: Part Five -
Poor Lone-mother Families Neglected by Policymakers

Machiko Osawa (Professor of Economics, Japan Woman's University) and J. Sean Curtin (Fellow, GLOCOM and Asia Times)

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.

Sean Curtin: Viewed from one perspective, over the last decade Japanese women have made great economic strides. Yet, at the same time we are seeing an increase in the number of poorer women, particularly divorced, separated and unmarried mothers with children. Their standard of living is dropping and for them poverty is increasing. How should we interpret these diverging trends?

Machiko Osawa: As you describe, there is definitely some kind of polarization going on. A very clear division is emerging between well-educated women with specific skills and on the other side less fortunate women such as divorced mothers who do not have any particular skills, making them less attractive in a tough labour market. This general polarization between the two groups has been occurring over the last ten years or so. Women are more likely to fall into the later group than the former.

Sean Curtin: I personally find the most distressing social trend is the increasing number of people living below the poverty line, an issue which particularly affects unpartnered mothers. Today, there are a lot of divorce, separated and unmarried women living with their children way below the poverty line. Many of these families are surviving on an income that is a third of the national average. For anyone who researches this topic firsthand, like I have, it is now possible to see the most appalling poverty in Japan, right in front of your eyes. What is your view on this problem? Is the government taking this issue seriously, and equally important are things getting worse?

Machiko Osawa: I do not think that they recognize this problem and I feel that the government is not taking this issue seriously. For instance, if you look at the way the social welfare budget is allocated, and this is probably because of the aging society, a huge proportion of the money is designated for the elderly. The social security budget seems to be driven by the needs of the elderly and there is no innovation for the changing needs of society.

Sean Curtin: Yes, that is a very accurate summary of the situation. Social welfare policy documents almost exclusively focus on the needs of the elderly at the expense of just about every other social group. I have observed what can almost be described as a fixation amongst the majority of the politician and policymaker I have spoken to about this issue. They usually concentrate exclusively on the elderly. I have tried to point out the very real needs of other equally deserving groups, but to no avail. I have asked, "What about the needs of poor families, what about underprivileged children, what about mothers who work all day for a pittance?" The standard reply is, "Oh, they can work."

Machiko Osawa: Yes, that is such an accurate assessment. Alarmingly, they are now tightening the conditions for receiving welfare, making them even stricter. I think they make these assumptions on the belief that the "family" can take care of these social needs.

Sean Curtin: I think you have identified one of the major flaws with current policy. It is based around traditional assumptions and concepts about a family structure which has changed and in many respects no longer exists. The Japanese family has evolved, but policy has yet to catch up.

Machiko Osawa: Yes, I agree this is a fundamental aspect of the problem.

Sean Curtin: I personally think that if we had more female lawmakers, then social policy might better represent the needs of women. At the moment, I think that there are just too many middle age and elderly male lawmakers directing social policy that strongly impacts on the lives of many young women, a group they know virtually nothing about. There are not enough women with child-rearing experience in the policymaking decision process.

Machiko Osawa: Yes, I think that is also true. We need people with real-life experience involved in the policy making process. I think this will be one of the major challenges to policymakers, facing up to the reality of the social changes that are actually occurring.

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.