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Proportion of Population Living on Welfare

Andrew Linford

Japan: An Egalitarian Society?

Income of Japan's Prefectures

Japan is commonly perceived as an egalitarian society. It is a well-developed country commonly thought to havelimited poverty; and as such, Japan is often grouped with the egalitarian Nordic countries. For example, in TheSpirit Level: Why Equality Makes Societies Stronger, Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson* argue that equalsocieties are better for all citizens, using Japan as an important example. In actuality, inequality in Japan runsdeep. Japan may be more egalitarian than the United Statues, but it is still beset by many layers of inequality.

My previous blog entry explored three distinct layers ofgeographic inequality, focused on China, which all apply toJapan: regional disparities, the rural/urban divide, and theexistence of an urban underclass. The map posted hereshows the percentage of the population defined as living onwelfare. The prefecture with the greatest proportion ofwelfare households is Osaka, with 4.35 of every 100 peoplein this category (colored red in the map). However,throughout Japan, more families live under the poverty linethan live off welfare, as nearly one in six lives on less than$1,830 a month for a four-person family. The map highlightssignificant regional inequalities across Japan. In general, thenorth and the south (including the island of Okinawa) arepoorer, whereas the center of Japan is better off. Inparticular, the area between Tokyo and Osaka has the lowest rates of households living on welfare.

Like most other countries, Japan also has a significant rural/urban divide. Cities have a much higher levels ofdevelopment and economic vitality. This economic divide manifests itself in several forms, particularly education.The cities tend to have more student funding and are able to provide better educational opportunities, especiallyin regard to English language instruction. Although cities are generally better off than rural areas, there is asignificant poor urban population across Japan, even in the wealthiest cities such as Tokyo. As seen in the map ofhouseholds receiving welfare, the highest rates tend to be in large metropolitan areas.

Percentage of Children in Poverty

Another form of inequality significant for Japan is the gender disparity. Among well-developed countries, Japan’sgender inequality is pronounced, as measured by several different indices. Although Japan is often compared tothe Nordic countries, it has comparatively much higher levels of gender inequality. Opportunities for Japanesewomen may be better than those found in less-developed countries, however, Japan’s gender disparity is uniquefor its level of development.

In many regards, Japanese culture tends to value humble and reserved behavior. This tendency directly relates toperceptions of economic disparity across Japan. Although many people live below the poverty line, such povertyis often hidden. As poorer people are often ashamed about their socio-economic status, they commonly work hardto “keep face” by seeming to be better off than they actually are. Such behavior makes economic inequality inJapan particularly easy to overlook. Furthermore, reserved attitudes make it difficult for the poorer population, asJapanese society as a whole is against inserting themselves in other’s lives, and hence often refrain from helpingothers economically. In contrast to many other countries, Japan tends to keep poverty out of sight and mind (thevictims of the recent tsunami are an exception here.) Japanese culture is conducive to maintaining an illusion ofgreater equality than what actually exists.

Another major difference between Japan and most other countries is that the Japanese tend to not discuss oridentify with a particular “social class.” Although people often know who is “binbo” (poor) and who is “okane-mochi”(money-holding, rich), politics are generally not based around such distinctions. As a result, the government’sability to pursue class-based policies is limited, leaving poorer citizens’ interests neglected.

A 2006 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) report oninequality in Japan provides insight oninequality in Japan. It shows that inequality hasbeen increasing recently, linked to thestagnation of the Japanese economy. Thereport demonstrates that in some ways, Japanmay actually have a less equal distribution ofwealth than the OECD average. Althoughincome disparities in Japan are lower than inmost OECD countries, taxes and transfers donot always benefit those in need. In particular,the system of financial reallocation has beenslightly regressive; as a result, the percentageof children living in poverty in Japan hasincreased since the 1980s if one takes intoaccount taxes and transfers. In fact, Japan now clearly is above the OECD average in terms of percentage ofchildren living in poverty. As this demonstrates, Japan is characterized by many significant hidden elements ofeconomic inequality.

Note: Maps are taken from this map database. Also, special thanks to Tyler Mantaring for his insight.

* The Spirit Level: Why Equality Makes Societies Stronger , Bloomsbury Press, April 2010, by Kate Pickett andRichard Wilkinson