Survey: High Prices Harm Education Of Children In Japan's Low - Income Families
A survey shows that nearly 60 percent of children in Japan's low-income households are bearing the brunt of recent higher prices in terms of education.
Kidsdoor, a non-profit organization whose mission is to address child poverty, conducted the survey this month among families it supports and 1,846 people responded.
Almost all respondents said price hikes were making their lives difficult. Asked what types of expenses they were being forced to cut, 84 percent said food, 74 percent cited clothing and 62 percent said other daily necessities.
Forty percent of the respondents said higher prices have adversely affected their children's studies, and 18 percent described the impact as extremely bad.
Among these respondents, 51 percent said they had to reduce their children's participation in extracurricular programs, such as visits to museums. Forty-five percent said their children seemed less motivated to study and 22 percent said their children were getting poorer scores in school.
Some respondents said they were struggling to make ends meet despite cutting spending because the coronavirus pandemic had reduced their income.
Others said they felt cornered both financially and mentally, and were frightened about their children's future.
The head of Kidsdoor, Watanabe Yumiko, warned that children may be forced to give up their future dreams in this situation. She called on the government to immediately address the matter.
