About 1 in 3 women between the ages of 20 and 64 who live alone are living in poverty, compared with 1 in 4 men in the same category, a study showed Wednesday.
"Women's status in the workplace is low, and they are more likely to live in poverty (than men)," said Aya Abe, a senior official with the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, which conducted the study.
The institute designates those who earn less than half the national median in disposable income as living in poverty. In the latest study, based on a government survey for 2010, those with less than ¥1.12 million in disposable income are deemed below the poverty line.
The ratios of such people stood at 32 percent for women and 25 percent for men.
The poverty ratio for women over 65 and living alone was 47 percent, compared with 29 percent for men. The study also reported that 48 percent of single-mother families with children younger than 19 are living in poverty.