Investigative journalism on Tokyo women in poverty. It is truly astonishing and suffocating to see how due to a combination of factors (class origin, health conditions, unaffordable higher education, unfortunate marriages, lack of social security, gender inequality and ruthless exploitation at work, and widespread societal misogyny, etc.), these women have had a free fall through the cracks despite hard work and strong desires for social mobility, and continue to slide down into the bottomless abyss. Where they are going, there is no hope, and suicide seems to be the only way out of despair. I can't believe how the government failed and continues to fail this marginalized group systematically on a policy level, as more and more middle class people live precariously with rising living costs and stagnating wages, when any kind of random personal misfortunes could easily send a family to rock bottom with no way back.
How far is poverty from us? In today's economic downturn, it may be very close. This book is an interview-based documentary published in 2019, collecting the stories of a dozen women living in poverty, told in their own words. Five years later, I belatedly realize these real-life cases of poverty, and I wonder whether the individuals featured in the book are still alive and whether their lives have improved. There are many factors that contribute to poverty, such as family background, education, marital status, health, and social welfare. In this book, you can see the struggles of women in a society with an inadequate safety net and a deeply ingrained preference for sons over daughters. While education can certainly change one's destiny and improve living conditions, this is based on the premise of a student life without economic burdens. In Japan, many academically excellent and hardworking university students face heavy financial pressure in order to afford their education. The low wages they receive for part-time jobs leave them overwhelmed, sacrificing all their time in exchange for meager pay, leaving them with little time to focus on their studies. Some are even forced to sell their bodies, with tragic consequences. These young women, originally aiming to pursue their studies and gain more time for learning and university life, end up losing their way, spiraling into despair. There are numerous reasons that can lead to poverty for women—an abusive father, a mother with a serious illness, poor decisions, failed marriages, or even career choices. These circumstances can easily lead them down an irreversible path. They are led by fate, step by step, toward the abyss of poverty. If the first five chapters may seem distant to those of us born into middle-class families, who have received good education and hold decent jobs, the troubles of these women are ones we don't need to worry about from the moment we are born. However, Chapter 6, the story of Ms. Kawakami, is something that could happen to any of us. She had a degree, a job, savings, and solid financial stability, but she made a misjudgment in her future planning when caring for her chronically ill sister. She spent enormous amounts of time and money, which ultimately led her to poverty. A long-term illness of a loved one—whether a child, a spouse, or a parent—is a random event in life, one that could happen to anyone you love. Without careful planning or a robust social welfare system, it could drag you into a hopeless situation. Throughout history, women with kindness, strong sense of responsibility, and ambition have been praised. Yet tragically, the women portrayed in this book fell into financial ruin because of these very qualities. Ms. Ikawa, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, was a high achiever who, in order to keep her job, used her maiden name and went through a fake divorce, which unfortunately turned into a real divorce. Her ex-husband abandoned her and their three children. Although she had the academic qualifications to support herself, she encountered workplace bullying, which damaged her health and left her with a disability. Losing her health meant losing her ability to live a normal life. In Japan, people receiving disability benefits are disqualified from receiving child support benefits, as policymakers believe that disabled individuals cannot raise children. How many people with disabilities are deprived of their right to be parents? A disabled person who has suffered from life’s hardships struggles to survive in a harsh society, only to have their family torn apart—how helpless is that? Some women who were born into privileged families, graduated from prestigious universities, and had a comfortable middle-class marriage have found themselves in financial ruin due to divorce, workplace bullying, or the responsibility of caring for a family member. These stories are chilling to read. In a country with an inadequate welfare system, seeing them, I almost feel like I am looking at my own future. Hard work does not necessarily lead to success; a high education does not guarantee a good job. A life spent running in circles leads only to more busy days ahead. Women struggling with poverty do everything they can to support the next generation, but all they receive is deeper poverty, passed down through the generations. This is the reality in Japan, where the economy has been sluggish for over twenty years. To make matters worse, government policies designed to support small businesses have actually exploited the poor. Society adheres to a "spend the least money to achieve the greatest effect" business model, pushing one after another of the impoverished into low-wage, informal employment. The "official poverty workforce" emerged during Junichiro Koizumi's era. Municipal subsidies were reduced, and government agencies began hiring a large number of informal workers. These workers appeared to be serving the government, but they lacked stable positions or insurance, earning meager wages, living paycheck to paycheck. The caregiving sector, one that is in high demand by the government, is a disaster area for informal employees. Society needs these workers, but taking care of the elderly generates no commercial value, so the government offers little financial assistance. Since the pay is low and labor demand is high, wages are driven even lower. The majority of desperate, impoverished women seek help from the government, only to be pushed into these low-paid, low-benefit industries. Female workers in the caregiving sector are especially numerous. The government and corporations exploit the kindness, trust, responsibility, and sense of duty of these women, pushing them into caregiving jobs, where they work tirelessly for very little pay. This has created a large group of women in society who are both overworked and underpaid, struggling every day on the brink of survival. The Pareto principle suggests that 20% of the population owns 80% of the wealth, but BBC fact-checking reveals that 80% of the wealth is actually controlled by just 1% of the population. While this comparison may not be entirely scientific, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the increasing rigidity of social classes, is an undeniable fact. Before the French Revolution, society was one where laborers worked tirelessly but still could not afford enough to eat. How far are we from that era?
This book offered many facts about poverty in Japan where many college students - nearly half of them probably but I could be wrong because my memory is bailing on me - are struggling to rise above the suffocating line of poverty.
The enlightenment I got here is that poverty is not something far away, it could be your life after a bad investment, a serious wrong life decision, or just a simple divorce.
That's what is left in my mind one month after finishing this book.