出版社：Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
摘要：Japan has no official ¡°poverty line,¡± and subsequently no official statistics
on poverty. In practice, the public assistance¡¯s ¡°minimum standard of living¡±
(below which subsistence benefits can be claimed) is used to calculate the poverty
rate,1 or the OECD index, which is defined as 50% of the population¡¯s median
income. No comprehensive survey has yet been conducted by the government
on the current state of poverty in Japan. In its annual report for 2006, the Ministry
in charge of economic and fiscal policy, incidentally questioned the OECD¡¯s
estimations on Japan¡¯s poverty rate; the OECD had assessed Japan¡¯s relative
poverty rate in 2000 to be 15.3%, the fifth highest ratio amongst OECD
countries.2 Regarding absolute poverty, the Ministry¡¯s report stated that ¡°from
the viewpoint of absolute poverty, it is difficult to state that Japan is currently
facing a severe issue.¡±
