The oft-seen expression ichioku sō-chūryū translates roughly as "the perception of 'the 100 million,' i.e., the entire nation, as belonging to the middle class."

This perception was never meant to be all-inclusive — certainly Japan has individuals with extreme wealth and others who suffer from serious poverty. Nevertheless back in 1958 a public-opinion survey found that 86 percent of adult respondents replied that they considered themselves middle class. (Note, however, that middle-class responses were divided into upper, middle and lower segments.) Remarkably, this perception has remained fairly consistent for the past 55 years; in a similar survey conducted in June 2013, more than 90 percent of respondents described themselves as middle class.

So if that's the case, and the bottom rung of income earners account for well under 10 percent, then what's behind the headlines incorporating the word hinkon (poverty) that appeared on the covers of four nationally circulated magazines over the previous two months? Not to mention a proliferation of other articles that also touch on this topic?