Source: Overseas Network
Free box lunch distribution site in Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park, Tokyo (twitter)
According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reported on the 18th, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic and other reasons, the phenomenon of poverty in Japanese society is increasing, and it has begun to affect almost all age groups. In late September, 400 free box lunches were distributed in a park in Tokyo within 20 minutes, the first time since 2009.
According to the report, a couple in their 50s at the scene said that their husbands worked in the hotel, but because of the epidemic, they could hardly work, the company did not issue a business subsidy, and the wife originally worked part-time in a restaurant, but also lost his job; another 32-year-old man said that after being fired by the company this summer, he wanted to reapply for a job as a cleaner, but found that there were more than 40 applicants for 3 positions, and he now had to spend the night at a friend's house and work as a short-term worker, and his income was very unstable.
The non-profit organization "tenohasi" organized this box lunch distribution activity, and there were not only elderly people who received the box lunch on the spot, but also many middle-aged and young people. Kenji Kiyono, head of the epidemic, said, "Due to the long-term continuation of the new crown epidemic and the increasing poverty phenomenon, many people who had barely survived on odd jobs and unemployment subsidies and government relief were completely in trouble." In the spring of 2020, only about 200 people received free box lunches, but this year it has exceeded 300 people, and this time more than 400 people, including many women, which was almost unprecedented before the epidemic.
Kiyono also expressed the hope that the government will pay attention to the growing number of poor groups and reach out to them in a timely manner. (Overseas Network Wang Xiluo)
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