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Child poverty could add to Japan's debt burden, class, educational disparities, says NPO

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

A private, non-profit organization warned on Thursday that without state intervention child poverty in Japan would have a significant impact on the future of Japan's economy.

According to The Nippon Foundation, the government needs to make provisions for children from impoverished families to receive a better education and have a better chance in the job market, or not only will educational disparities between rich and poor widen, but the government would end up shouldering the fiscal burden.

The foundation said that without intervention that burden could total some 2.9 trillion yen (23.5 billion U.S. dollars). According to their calculations based on estimates comprising 1.2 million 15-year-olds living in Japan, of which 180,000 come from families or institutions relying on welfare, those receiving support would earn in the region of 25.5 trillion yen by the age of 64, compared to 22.6 trillion yen without aid, around 2.9 trillion yen less.

Those from low-income backgrounds therefore would be likely to consume less, pay less in taxes -- a cumulative average of 1.1 trillion yen less than if they were receiving aid -- and be less likely to buy houses and start families, in a fresh millstone for a nation already fiscally crippled by public debt at twice the size of its economy and a shrinking population due to an already declining birth rate.

The potential disparities, the organization said, were based on whether the government took concrete steps to improve the high school entrance ratio of children from impoverished backgrounds and the drop-out ratio to those of the national average and did the same for higher education.

"Economic losses resulting from not addressing child poverty could be huge. We need to take steps to end educational inequality," a spokesperson for The Nippon Foundation was quoted as saying, highlighting the need for the government to take measures to counter the growing numbers of children living in families relying on state benefits, living in single-parent households, or in foster care.

The foundation is a largely philanthropic NPO whose mission, through "social innovation", is to achieve a society where all people support one another. Its overall objectives include assistance for humanitarian activities, both in Japan and overseas. Enditem