Japan's standard of living

In the postwar years, Japan experienced a sharp and steady economic growth and an increase in average living standards. The wage gap between blue-collar and white-collar workers has significantly narrowed, which has led to the creation of a social security system for all employees. A so-called lifelong hiring system has been developed ^[1], which allows increasing wages with the age of the employee and years of service, along with decent pension contributions from the employee and employer, modern Japanese pensioners are one of the most prosperous and socially protected layers of society.

In the post-war period in Japan, the triad characterizing the consumer ideal was called the “three holy treasures”, a TV, a refrigerator and a washing machine, and by 1964 90% of households owned all “three holy treasures”. Most families tried to equip themselves with these luxury goods, and in subsequent years, consumer demand increased significantly. ^[2] From 1951 to 1967, for example, the share of home paid radio subscribers grew from 58.6% to 93.4%, and from 1952 to 1970 the share of paid television household subscribers increased from 0.01% in 1951 to 94% 1970. ^[3] By 1970, 98% of all households had a washing machine, 95% had a gas or electric refrigerator, 80% had a vacuum cleaner, 77% had a camera and 67% had 70% had a TV. ^[four]

Together, the unions (which take part in “spring strikes” every year to pay wages and bonuses) helped the bulk of the Japanese population gain a share in the wealth caused by the expansion of national production. Real wages in the manufacturing industry in 1960 were almost 50% higher than in 1934-36 (which was accepted by the pre-war norm). Over the next ten years, it grew by another 80%, while in trade the growth was slightly lower. From 1955 to 1980, the amount of the average household budget spent on food decreased from 44.5% to 27.8%, and the share spent on medical services, rent and clothing also decreased, leaving more money for non-essential items, such as continuing education, consumer durables and leisure. ^[five]

According to William G. Beasley, the standard of living in Japan was largely “undoubtedly impressive by the 1980s: high real wages, low unemployment, excellent medical care, and higher than average consumption of goods and services.” However, the 1986 White Paper found that in matters affecting the quality of life, Japan still lags behind America and Europe. Almost 75% of all power lines in Tokyo were still above the ground, and only about a third of the houses were connected to the sewer. ^[5] In 1985, only 36% of Japanese households had access to treatment facilities, compared with 65% in France (1975) and 97% in the United Kingdom (1976). The parkland per capita in downtown Tokyo was only 2.2 square meters compared to 30-50 square meters in Washington, London and Bonn. The ratio of roads to total area was also low in central Tokyo at 14%, compared with 17% in London and 20% in Paris. ^[6]

Despite the hard work and sacrifice that made Japan one of the richest nations in the world, many Japanese felt that they were "a rich nation, but poor people." This negative outlook on the economy is due to the fact that the average consumer had to pay more for goods and services, which are much cheaper in other countries. ^[7] Despite these negative perceptions, however, average living standards improved dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, and real household spending rose during Japan's economic growth. ^{[8] The} new national wealth created by the post-war economic boom was evenly distributed among the Japanese, which left almost no people in the lower economic class. In addition, the unemployment rate remained low. ^[9] The standard of living of most Japanese people also increased significantly in the post-war era, with real wages more than doubled from 1965 to 1975. ^[10] In the seventies, the average standard of living in Japan grew to the same high level as in the West. ^[eleven]

By August 1960, 9 out of 10 urban households had a radio, almost half had an electric washing machine and electric fan, and more than half had a TV. ^[12] By the end of the seventies, 99.4% of all households had refrigerators, 98.7% had washing machines, 97.7% had color televisions, and 53.4% ​​had cars. ^[10] By the beginning of the 1980s, most Japanese people enjoyed "fully the same amenities and advantages as those of a society as developed as it was on Earth." The annual income of the average Japanese family increased to $ 20,000, about 40% of all houses were equipped with microwaves or air conditioning, more than 8 out of 10 families had electric sewing machines, 2 out of 3 families had a car and at least one tape recorder, and more than 99% of all households had color televisions and refrigerators. ^[13] By the mid-1980s, Japan's real wages ranged from 60% to 80% of real wages in the United States. ^[4] About 90% of the Japanese began to consider themselves the middle class, and Japanese workers became one of the best in the world. According to statistics from the International Labor Organization, Japanese manufacturing workers in 1984 earned an average of $ 989.99 per hour. In addition, according to a 1989 survey by Japanese society, a comparison based on the current value of the yen showed that Japanese workers earn more per hour than their American counterparts. ^[6]

The share of total food-related family living expenses fell from 35% in 1970 to 27% in 1986, while net household savings, which in the mid-1970s averaged a little over 20%, averaged 15 to 20% in the 1980s. Thus, Japanese households had greater disposable income to pay for improved housing and other commodities. The increase in disposable income partially explained the economic boom of the 1980s, which was caused by explosive domestic demand, as well as the sharp increase in the value of the yen after the .

The Japanese income distribution in the 1980s, both before and after taxes, was one of the fairest in the world. An important factor in the distribution of income is that the lower-income group lives better than in most industrialized countries. The economic crisis of the 1990s somewhat softened this picture, increasing the unemployment rate (up to 4.0% in 2006).

The collapse of the Japanese financial bubble triggered a phenomenon called the “ Lost Decade, ” with re-importers and discount chains that lower the inflated prices of food and consumer goods, especially electronics. Today, Tokyo is still one of the most expensive cities in the world, but the difference in cost of living between Japan and other industrialized countries never again approached the level of the 1980s.

Today, most Japanese employees not only enjoy job security and have access to various professional benefits, but also a very high standard of living. In addition, although Japan's social security system is less generous than the one that exists in most developed countries, Japan has a balanced income distribution that compares with Scandinavia. As one historian noted,

“Obviously, Japan has developed its own national economic and social security, which perhaps offers social protection comparable to the advanced welfare states of Europe.” ^[14]

As Kenichi Omae noted in the early nineties,

“The standard of living has been growing steadily over the past forty years; more than 90 percent of people consider themselves to be middle class and are quite satisfied with their life. ” ^[15]

Summing up the socio-economic achievements of Japan, Jeff Kingston noted that

“Post-war Japan experienced success in rebuilding a nation destroyed by war, raising living standards, rebuilding democracy, taming militarism, and reuniting a community of peoples. This far-reaching rehabilitation of Japan marks an outstanding achievement and has led to significant success in the lives of Japanese citizens. It is amazing that, despite this whirlwind of rapid and brilliant transformations, Japan has maintained and increased its social capital and avoided the worst disasters affecting other advanced industrialized countries. The relative absence of deep divisions in society, a highly developed sense of community, and success in deterring deployment and social problems and modernization are a source of considerable strength in Japan. People are better placed, better educated, healthier, live longer and have almost any criterion better than their predecessors and most other people in the world. They enjoy political stability, economic security, low crime, good health care, decent schools, adequate housing and an extraordinary level of public policy. ”

Japanese homes, although usually newer, are often smaller than in most other industrialized countries. Despite the fact that the percentage of residences with flush toilets increased from 31.4% in 1973 to 65.8% in 2008, this figure was still much lower than in other industrialized countries. In some predominantly rural areas of Japan at that time, it was less than 30%. Even 9.7% of houses built between 1986 and 1988 did not have flush toilets. ^[7]

The need for heating depends on the geographical location. In northern and central Japan, several meters of snow can be observed in winter, and southern Japan experiences little winter frost (but in summer it can be very inconvenient without air conditioning).

In megacities, houses are built very close to each other, with narrow stripes of land for green spaces, if any. Apartment buildings with ten to twenty floors can be found even in the suburbs.

The cost of Japanese housing is very different between urban and rural areas. The asset price bubble in the 1980s overestimated land prices in urban areas, but they have stabilized since the early 1990s and amounted to about 50% of the peak. In cities, housing continues to rise in price relative to annual income, although the high cost is somewhat offset by low interest rates. Large companies often offer subsidies to their employees to purchase housing.

The westernization of many areas of Japanese life includes the consumption of a variety of foods. After World War II, Japanese dietary patterns changed and became similar to Western ones. Many Japanese still prefer a traditional breakfast of boiled rice, miso soup and pickled vegetables ( tsukemono ).

The Japanese diet has improved along with other indicators of living standards. Average daily intake was 2084 calories and 77.9 g of protein in the late 1980s. Of the total protein intake, 26.5% was cereal (including 18.4% of rice), 9.6% - legumes, 23.1% - fish, 14.8% - livestock products, 11% - for eggs and milk and 15% - for other sources. Before World War II, the average annual consumption of rice was 140 kilograms per capita, but in 1987 it fell to 72 kilograms. This development has further exacerbated the problem of excess rice consumption. The government began implementing several strategies for transitioning to non-crisis crops, but they met with limited success, and rice remained in abundance (see Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Japan ). As a disadvantage, the percentage of overweight children has increased.

A negative aspect of Japan's economic growth is industrial pollution. Until the mid-1970s, both the public and private sectors were striving for economic growth with such determination that prosperity was accompanied by serious degradation of both the environment and the quality of life.

By 1980, the consumer finance industry began to flourish. Younger families are especially vulnerable to debt. Housing is the largest unit for which consumers borrowed. In 1989, families borrowed approximately $ 17,000 annually, or about 23% of their average income. Those who wanted to buy homes and real estate needed an average of $ 242,600 (of which they borrowed about $ 129,000).

But many families in the 1980s abandoned the idea of ​​buying a house. This has forced many young Japanese to spend part of their savings on travel abroad, expensive commodities and other luxury goods. As one young worker said: “If I can never buy a house, at least I can use my money to enjoy life now.” As the capabilities of credit cards and financial agencies expanded, the use of loans for the purchase of other consumer durables expanded. By 1989, the number of credit cards issued in Japan had reached actual parity with the population.

Japanese families continue to believe that saving for retirement is crucial due to the relative inadequacy of official social insurance plans and private pension plans. The average family had savings of $ 76,500 in 1989, far less than what is needed to cover living expenses for retirees, although official pensions and retirement benefits helped cover the financial burden of senior citizens. The annual living expenses for pensioners in 1989 were estimated at $ 22,800. About half of this came from state pensions, and the rest from savings and retirement benefits. Senior citizens at the age of seventy years had the greatest savings, including deposits, insurance and securities in the amount of $ 113,000 per person. In 1989, people at the age of 20 had savings of $ 23,800, and employees at the age of 30 had savings of $ 66,000.

The Japanese consumer benefits most from the availability of compact, sophisticated consumer goods, which are often a popular export. Consumer electronics, clothing, automobiles and household appliances are high-quality products that are supplied by Japanese industry. Japan has 45 million cars, which is 350 cars per 1,000 people. The Japanese railway system has entered the top ranking of the most advanced in the world in a recent OECRA development report.

Source: Economic Planning Agency, Economic Management, 1986 ^[6]

Color tvs

1970 = 26.3% 1975 = 90.3% 1980 = 98.2% 1985 = 99.1%

video recorders

1980 = 2.4% 1985 = 27.8%

Cars

1970 = 22.1% 1975 = 41.2% 1980 = 57.2% 1985 = 67.4%

Refrigerators

1970 = 89.1% 1975 = 96.7% 1980 = 99.1% 1985 = 98.4%

Air conditioners

1970 = 5.9% 1975 = 17.2% 1980 = 39.2% 1985 = 52.3 %%

Piano

1970 = 6.8% 1975 = 11.8% 1980 = 15.8% 1985 = 18.3%

According to the list of variables, a Japanese sociologist rated Japan among a group of ten other industrialized countries. Data was collected from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s, and Japan was rated better than the average in terms of total income distribution, disposable income per capita, traffic safety and crime, life expectancy and infant mortality, the proportion of owners occupied homes, work breaks and labor unrest, and air pollution. Japan was below the average wage gap by gender and company size, the share of labor in total income from production, social security and unemployment benefits, weekly working days and daily working hours, total land and housing costs, river pollution, treatment facilities and recreation areas in urban centers. Несмотря на эти оценки, показатели особенно загрязнения и увеличения свободного времени, улучшились в 1980-х годах и, в целом, уровень жизни в Японии был сопоставим с уровнями наиболее богатых экономик в мире. ^[7]

За последние два десятилетия неравенство в Японии выросло ^[16] в результате экономических трудностей, с которыми Япония столкнулась после окончания экономического бума 1980-х годов. Эта проблема характеризовалась увеличением доли рабочей силы, занятой на временной или неполной основе, с 19 % в 1996 году ^[17] до 34,5 % в 2009 году ^[18] вместе с увеличением числа японцев живущих в нищете. По данным Организации экономического сотрудничества и развития, доля людей в Японии, живущих в относительной бедности (определяемая как доход, составляющий менее 50 % медианного), выросла с 12 % от общей численности населения в середине 80-х годов до 15,3 % в 2000 году. ^[19] В 2005 году было подсчитано, что 12,2 % детей в Японии живут в нищете. ^[20] С 1985 по 2008 год процент временных работников (работающих по срочным контрактам без обеспечения занятости, повышения заработной платы по стажу или других льгот) увеличился с 16,4 % до 34,1 % рабочей силы. ^[21] Различные наблюдатели пришли к описанию Японии как «общества дисбаланса», общества, разделённого обществом с категорическими классовыми различиями и неравенствами (в стране, где около 90 % населения считают себя средним классом в различных обследованиях), ^[22] Рост неравенства в доходах в Японии, возможно, способствовал избранию Демократической партии Японии в 2009 году, которая обещала сократить социально-экономическое неравенство с помощью таких стратегий, как расширенная система социального обеспечения. ^[23] Несмотря на эти проблемы, средний уровень жизни в Японии остаётся одним из самых высоких в мире. ^[24]

• Уровень жизни
• Экономика Японии