Surging Prices Hitting Families Hard
Surging food and energy prices in Japan are hitting child-rearing families especially hard. Many say they are already surviving on a minimal budget and they do not know how to cut spending further.
A woman in her thirties lives with her husband and their 2-year old daughter. Her husband's wages have not risen despite price hikes and the family has to make do on his monthly salary of about 200,000 yen, just a little over 1,300 dollars.
She has cut back on expenses wherever possible and has managed to keep their monthly food bill at about 10,000 yen, or around 67 dollars. But, in July, the amount she had to pay nearly doubled.
To try and save further on food costs, she sometimes visits four different stores a day in search of items that have been marked-down.
The mother says, "It's really hard. As prices climb higher, I have to make greater efforts to save more."
She says it is becoming increasingly difficult to prepare balanced meals for her family on a tighter budget.
Adding to her pain are surging energy bills.
She says, "The cost of energy has increased between 20 and 30 percent, even though we've been using the same amount. I'm worried about this winter."