The poverty situation in Japan has improved since 2012. In the 2015 survey, child poverty rate decreased 2.4% from 16.3% (2012 data) to 13.9% (2015 data). Overall poverty rate decreased 0.5% from 16.1% to 15.6%. However, the improvement is still limited, and the situation remains extremely severe in some household types, such as in the single parent homes. The number of children in need may be close to 2.8 million.
Poverty is a major problem. To solve this issue, a more fundamental problem should be addressed, as poverty is a part of a more basic difficulty.
In the current capitalistic economy, too much emphasis is placed on achieving short-term gain that collecting money is an objective in itself for many business operations and economic advisory organizations. The force is so strong that sometimes, conformance to rules on socially acceptable behavior and accounting rules is deemphasized. Hurting people, conducting ethical behavior, and obeying the law are ignored from time to time, and soon, people become accustomed to acting irresponsibly. The world is full of examples where people in need are overlooked, reports are falsified, and assets intangible or concrete are stolen.
The behavior of the undisciplined people who use the social rules excessively for their benefit only worsen the environment. As undesirable thoughts and actions lead to an undesirable society, the way of thinking and behavior must change to prevent the environment from deteriorating even further.
A different concept, although not new, is sharing. It is about realizing a better balance between giving and taking, such that everybody has room to live well. The balance of wealth tipped too steeply in favor of a few people can be adjusted to make everybody more comfortable. To shift the balance, changes in the way of thinking and behavior are necessary, because the current thought processes, assumptions, and priorities only serve to maintain the existing system.
A good starting point will be to have ears to listen. By re-examining why and re-evaluating how we act today, we may be able to address the problems in a better way.
