The Japanese Freeters

Nearly one in six Japanese lives below the poverty line -- meaning they earn less than half the median household income, or less than 1,830 dollars for a four-person family -- in a country that prides itself on its egalitarianism. Many of the worst-off are single mothers, the elderly, and people who lost their jobs in the latest recession.

Swelling their ranks has been a new generation of workers who lack the job security their parents enjoyed. Temporary and part-time jobs and short-term contracts have become the norm for half of all employees under 39 years of age, a group dubbed "Freeters" -- made up of the words "freelancer" and "Arbeiter", German for worker. These employees are often paid less, and are more vulnerable to job market swings during downturns than permanent staff. Hundreds of thousands of temporary workers were laid off during the recession of 2008-2009.

Many on the brink of poverty fall over the edge because of the demise of family structures that once acted as a safety net, said Aya Abe, a researcher at the National Institute on Population and Social Security.In the past, three generations often lived under one roof, meaning that up to four people -- the parents and grandparents -- could work and pool their wages, which limited the shock of one person losing their job.Today "many single mothers juggle two jobs," said Abe. "They work in the daytime, then cook dinner for their children before heading off to their second job. They return home around 3:00 am to sleep before a new day begins."

It is now often the elderly -- whose proportion in society is on the rise in rapidly greying Japan, with its low birthrate and high life expectancy -- who pay the heaviest price as poverty grows in Asia's biggest economy. The role of the company and the family have diminished in people's lives, but the government has failed to fill the void, say experts.

"Poverty's dark shadow can be seen in various social problems -- rising cases of suicide, solitary death and child abuse, and languishing birth rates," the Asashi Shimbun daily newspaper said in a recent editorial.

The suicide rate is more than 25 per 100,000 people, above the global average of 16 per 100,000, according to the World Health Organisation.

Consumer gluttony, astronomic real-estate prices and jobs for life were once normal in Japan - now , no more.