Yuichiro's eyes are tearful as he receives his food ration during a food distribution in Tokyo to help the growing number of people who have entered the cycle of destitution due to the consequences of the "Covid-19" pandemic on the third strongest global economy.

"There is no work anymore. Nothing!" Said the 46-year-old worker, who asked to be satisfied with his first name.

Noting that “the media in Japan do not discuss this issue much,” he affirms that “many people sleep in train stations and cardboard boxes, and some of them die of starvation.”

Japan has relatively escaped from the epidemic compared to many other countries, as the number of deaths in it from the Corona virus has reached 4,500 since January 2020, and no strict containment measures have been imposed, but associations indicate that the already vulnerable groups are the most affected.

Ren Onishi - who is head of the local non-governmental organization "Muay" concerned with combating poverty - asserts that "the epidemic, rising unemployment and low wages are factors that directly affected poor workers who were mainly finding it difficult" to secure the minimum necessities of life.

Japan suggests that it has the ingredients that allow it to absorb the economic shock of the epidemic and limit its impact, as its unemployment rate is about 3%, and its social security system is effective.

In reality, 40% of workers occupy jobs that lack contractual stability.

Collapse of the middle class

People in need sometimes face difficulties in obtaining social assistance.

In this regard, Yuichiro says that he moved in vain between official departments, as each referred him to the other, until he was informed that priority is given to families with children.

However, Yuichiro notes with pain that "many adults do not have enough food."

Official statistical data show that more than 10 million people in Japan live on the equivalent of less than $ 17,500 annually, while one out of every 6 people lives in "relative poverty," meaning that his income is less than half the average wage.

Half a million people have lost their jobs in the last six months, according to Kenji Sino, the head of a non-governmental organization that provides emergency aid.

He points out that these "are not only old men, but also women and youth."

During a social solidarity activity in the popular Ikebukuro neighborhood in Tokyo, which included 250 people who came to get food aid, medicine and sleeping bags, Kenji said that "the middle class is collapsing" and "those who were already in a vulnerable state found their conditions worsening."

This situation sometimes leads some to take on actions that express the despair they are suffering. According to Tario Saito of the NLI Research Institute, a 1% increase in the unemployment rate causes an additional 3,000 suicides annually.

Although the number of suicides in Japan decreased in 2019 to a historically low level and continued to decline in the first half of 2020, it has increased since last July.

And the percentage of women who commit suicide is increasing, as they are also suffering more and more from the instability of their jobs.

Kenji notes that more women are coming with their children to receive food aid, and this is no longer as rare as it was before.

Fear of shame

The government is trying to maintain an impossible balance between the risks of the outbreak of the epidemic and the economic consequences of the extreme measures imposed under the state of emergency currently in force in 11 of the 47 provinces of Japan.

The associations realize that many countries have much higher levels of poverty than Japan, but they draw attention to the difficulty of collecting aid for the needy, and the social stigma they suffer.

"The social assistance system gives priority to families. Therefore, families receive messages informing them that their son has requested help," explains Rin Onishi.

However, “many do not want their families to know that they are receiving social assistance,” as they see the matter as shameful and shameful.

"It is a very Japanese system. Everyone has the right to benefit from it, but society does not necessarily accept it," he says.

A construction worker who came to collect his share of aid in the Ikebukuro neighborhood recounts that his salary, which was equivalent to $ 960 a year ago, has fallen sharply, and is no longer worth just over $ 180.

"I just have enough to pay my rent again. I don't want to be homeless. It's too cold. I don't know exactly what to do," he says.