Child Poverty in Okinawa

by Misaki Fujioka

The poverty rate of children in Japan stands at 16.3%. This means that one out of six children is in poverty. In Okinawa, though, the rate greatly exceeds the national average. One child out of three to four is said to be impoverished, at 37.5%. Today, many problems have been caused by poverty in Okinawa. In the news, discussions of the problems such as base issues and crime have been taken up almost everyday. We know, we have an interest in these major news stories. But, have you had a genuine concern about the poverty of children? My guess is not many people have even thought about this issue very deeply. I was also one of them. Child poverty should be abolished. First, poor children cannot receive equal education. Second, poor children have more health problems - both in mind and body. Finally, it is extremely hard to break the poverty cycle.

First, poor children cannot receive equal education. In poor families, it is difficult to spend an ordinary life. In terms of education, it costs a lot of money for children to receive enough education they need. When they can’t keep up with class, they can’t attend cram schools because they have no money. In fact, in Okinawa, the percentage of students who go on to high school or university is the lowest in Japan. Furthermore, a few children have to leave school without being able to pay tuition fees even if they are admitted to these schools. Children who would give up going on school can’t learn the necessary knowledge and skills for living well in society.

Second, poor children encounter more health and social problems that are closely related. Good meal is indispensable to human beings. However, poor children often eat unsatisfied meals or if they eat something, it is instant food or retort-packed food. With these kinds of unhealthful meals, they can’t get enough nutrition. Eating an unbalanced diet over a long time may have serious damages in their health. In spite of this, in Okinawa, there are children who are living only on school lunch. Especially, there are many poor children in Okinawa City, the percentage is the highest with about 26%. For them, school lunch is their only lifeline. Moreover, if the family is poor, parents keep working the whole day to make their living. Then children are left alone at home. They feel sad and lonely, and miss their parents. And this is one of the main reasons why they become delinquents. In addition, there are many boys who are taken into custody by the police. It reached 182 people, about 5 times in comparison all over the Japan, 60% of them grew up in a poor family. In this way, there are quite a few children who walk a wrong life.

Finally, it is extremely hard to break the poverty cycle. If the parents are poor this can also lead to poverty of children and to the next generation. There are many people who have low income, non-regular employment and fatherless families. These problems may be three major factors of poverty in Okinawa. Especially in a fatherless family, most of the mothers work in non-regular employments and they have to work in two or more places for making a living. These things give a big burden not only parents but also children.

In conclusion, this problem is becoming more dire every year. Poor children or families need our help. Why do poor children or poor families not decrease? If we don’t think about child poverty in Okinawa, it’ll get worse. But, many measures have been taken to child poverty recently. For example, facilities “kodomo-syokudou” which provide a free meal for children who can’t eat plenty of food was made in Okinawa city. 

Dinners for 300 people are cooked there every day. Moreover a nation also begun to move towards the measures. In the newspaper, they are plans to increase the support staff such as a school social worker and learning support classroom, spend of 1 billion yen. In this way, many people may think seriously about child poverty in Okinawa. I think this will lead to a big step to eliminate poverty. The worst thing is that you are indifferent. Each of us has to care about poverty of children and should create a society that they can live with peace of mind. Because all of children are our future, who will become leaders the coming generation. For that, there are many things we can do and we should have more interest about this problem. Moreover it’s very important to cooperate to protect children. Then, we can change Okinawa for the better.