Single Women In Japan Earn Less, Spend More For Housing: Survey

A survey on the state of single women's lives in Japan has shown that many of them are struggling to live "wholesome and cultured" lives as guaranteed by the Constitution, Satoko Nakagawa reported for Mainichi Shimbun.

Photo Insert: A survey of 15 women carried out by the Yokohama City Gender Equality Promotion Association showed that their average monthly housing expenditure was 61,000 yen (approximately $500), which came out to about 40% of their income.

A survey of 15 women carried out by the Yokohama City Gender Equality Promotion Association showed that their average monthly housing expenditure was 61,000 yen (approximately $500), which came out to about 40% of their income. This indicates that housing costs place a heavy burden on single women.

According to a survey conducted by the Japanese government, the general burden of housing expenditure is about 20% of annual income. In the case of women, the higher percentage is believed to occur against a backdrop of many being hired as non-regular workers with lower wages.

Additionally, they tend to spend more on housing due to safety concerns, but public assistance is lacking.

A representative for the Yokohama City Gender Equality Promotion Association said "Can working desperately to secure money for rent and cutting back on spending for food be characterized as 'wholesome and cultured' life? We want to shine the spotlight on poverty that is not easily seen."

The association plans to conduct a large-scale survey going forward, to ultimately offer policy recommendations.

In a study by Tokyo Metropolitan University professor Aya Abe, which shed light on relative poverty rates using the government's 2019 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, poverty rates by household structure among men and women between the ages of 20 and 64 were shown to be highest among single-mother households, at 25.2%, followed by single-woman households, at 24.5%.

According to a survey by the Japanese government, in fiscal 2020, the average official monthly income of women working full-time was 250,000 yen (approx. $2,040), about 70% of that of men. In response to this state of affairs, the gender equality association conducted a survey on single women's living situations.

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