This is poverty? "Mr. Kimura" earns ¥5.5 million a year. But he used to earn ¥6.5 million. Then came the 2008 "Lehman Shock." The economy, shaky to begin with, buckled. Salaries were cut, bonuses pared. Kimura's housing loan, arranged pre-Lehman, absorbs ¥170,000 a month. His two kids are in private schools.
What to do? Learn the ways of poverty in order not to sink into it. Instant-noodle lunches. No drinking, or at least less. Moonlighting.
Really? Moonlighting? Yes, several nights a week and all day Saturday, at part-time jobs for ¥1,000 an hour. Weekdays he gets 2-3 hours' sleep a night. "I just hope my health holds out," he sighs, "till the kids are grown."