Nearly 60 percent of households in Japan struggled last year to make ends meet, a survey by the welfare ministry showed.
The figure was little changed from the survey on living conditions in 2023 when the number of households feeling the pinch rose significantly.
The figure for last year reflects the prolonged sharp rise in living costs.
The survey results, released on July 4, were based on replies from around 7,000 households nationwide as of this time last year.
It said 58.9 percent of households reported that their living conditions were difficult, with 28.0 percent saying their situation was very difficult and 30.9 percent saying it was somewhat difficult.
In the 2023 survey, the corresponding rates were 59.6 percent, 26.5 percent and 33.1 percent.
Among households headed by elderly persons, 55.8 percent responded that they were struggling, down 3.2 percentage points from the previous survey. Among households with children, 64.3 percent, down 0.7 point from 2023, said they face hardship, of which 33.9 percent, up 5.4 points, answered that they were in serious hardship.
The average annual income per household in 2023 was 5.36 million yen ($37,093), 2.3 percent higher than in 2022.
Estimates based on a survey of approximately 61,000 households showed that 18,995,000 households, or 34.6 percent of the total, were single-person entities, the largest number since the survey began in 1986.
On the other hand, 9,074,000 households, or 16.6 percent, had children, the lowest figure ever.
AloJapan.com