A survey shows recent price hikes have dealt a serious financial blow to single-parent households in Japan. More than half of the respondents said they have been forced to give up buying rice or other staple foods.

A group supporting single parents conducted the online survey in October. About 2,800 people across the country responded.

Fifty-six percent said that they have had to skip buying staple foods due to financial difficulties.

For the same reason, 81 percent said they could not afford new clothes or shoes for their children, and 75 percent said they were not able to buy foodstuffs, including meat and fish.

The survey also shows that 62 percent of respondents reduced the size or the number of their meals, and seven percent said they did so for their children.

About 20 percent of respondents said they could not pay their utility bills on time.

A representative of the group that conducted the survey, Akaishi Chieko, said that in contrast to the coronavirus pandemic, the price hikes have affected all households.

Akaishi said if the situation does not change, it will harm the mental and physical health of parents and their children.

She said she worries that even if in the future the government gives subsidies to single-parents with children, they may end up just using the money to pay for their utilities.
She said the government should increase child-rearing allowances and continuously support single-parent households.