The number of families living on an income lower than the public welfare assistance level more than doubled in the 20 years after the asset price bubble popped in 1992, according to a study by Kensaku Tomuro of Yamagata University. Now 16 percent of Japanese children live below the poverty line, according to Health Ministry statistics, but among single-parent families, the rate hits 55 percent. Poverty rates in Osaka are among the worst. Indeed, for women trying to operate support groups, even finding single mothers to help can be a challenge — because the sense of shame runs so deep. Credit: @tictoc by Bloomberg
