Japan's Livelihood Protection
The Japanese Government allocates more than about $35 billion (3.5 trillion yen) for this critical spending. The amount a person receives per year is about $17,000 (1.7 million yen) on average.
When the labor-union supported Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took over power in the 2009 general election, conditions and procedures for receiving livelihood protection were eased to some extent. But as the conservative and capitalistic LDP again came back to power through the 2012 general election, the tide clearly changed. To put national finance on a recovery track, they started to raise a bar for receiving welfare.
One example is as follows: A man in his 30s finally found that he could not work due to his illness. He went to a city office to apply for welfare. But an official in charge was reluctant to receive an application and admit his qualification as a recipient. So, the poor and sick man asked help from a volunteer group. Finally he could be recognized as a fair applicant to receive money.
He was an unhappy man since his parents got divorced soon after he was born. He was raised in a child-care institution in Kobe City, a port city in Western Japan. After graduating from a junior high school, he started to work in a fish store as a live-in shop staff. Then a great earthquake hit Kobe in 1995, taking on 6,000 lives. He could survive but lost the job. So, he moved to Osaka City, the main commercial city in Western Japan, to work as a day laborer.
But recently he realized that he was suffering high blood pressure. Finally, he became unable to work any more. But when he visited the city office, an official in charge of welfare requested him to go to a public employment security office. Specifically he was requested to go and check jobs in the public employment security office at least thee times per week and have an interview for a job once per week. The poor and unlucky man explained why it was impossible for him to meet this condition which was actually against law. But the official threatened that he would even reject his application if he would not follow this instruction.
In Japan the public office, when receiving an application for welfare, must decide whether or not the applicant can be qualified as a recipient of public assistance within 14 days after receiving the application. If an applicant has no assets and no means to earn money, he or she can be admitted to welfare as a general rule.
Japan is not a poor country. But its gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Especially the 15-year long deflation has created more millionaires than before, but it also promoted cost reduction and staff cuts. Though an employment rate in Japan was just a little higher than 4%, many workers are forced to work as part timers receiving low wages. Nonetheless still many Japanese companies plan to move their factories and plants to China and other Asian countries for a merit of cheap labor in these developing counties.
So, globalization of economy makes Japanese workers suffer. And it is expected that they will be further hurt by Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now under negotiations by representatives of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc. for further expanding free trade around the Pacific Ocean.
Successful businesses pay tax but they cannot fully cover livelihood protection for those who are victimized by this economic system.
APPENDIX.
Country...............Ratio of Welfare in GDP
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UK 4.1%
USA 3.7%
Germany 2.0%
France 2.0%
JAPAN 0.3%
OECD Average 2.4%
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Mt. Fuji Viewed from Tokyo Suburbs
