A Japanese government survey has found that the percentage of people who are satisfied with their lives stands at 51.8 percent, the second-lowest level ever recorded.

The Cabinet Office contacted 3,000 people across Japan aged 18 or older from October through November of last year. A total of 1,888 people, or 62.9 percent, responded.

The percentage of those who said they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their current lives was down 3.5 points from a year earlier. It was the second-lowest figure reported since the question was added to the survey in 1964.

The percentage of people who said they were happy or somewhat happy with their income was 34.9 percent.

The figure was down 4.8 points from a year earlier, and it was the lowest one recorded since the question was added in 1986.

Asked what policies they expect the government to implement, 64.5 percent of the respondents said policies aimed at improving social security and 64.4 percent said ones aimed at tackling rising prices. That is roughly double the 32.9 percent, which was recorded a year earlier.

30 percent chose anti-coronavirus policies. That figure represents a drop of more than half compared to the previous year.

The Cabinet Office attributes the results of the survey mainly to surging prices. It says the rising prices are due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other factors.