Over 90% of scholarship recipients in Japan are in financial strain due to inflation, a nonprofit organization survey has found.

According to the online survey by Osaka-based DxP, 91% of respondents who are receiving grant-type scholarships and seeking food aid from the Japan Student Services Organization say their livelihoods are getting worse amid rising prices, with 19.8% describing their situation as dire. Meanwhile, no one reported a household budget increase.

In particular, 65.5% answered food expenses "increased" and 10.2% said they "increased significantly" while 56.5% expressed dissatisfaction with their everyday meals.

The July 1-25 survey, in which 354 people between the ages of 18-25 gave valid responses, also found that there are struggling scholarship recipients who are skipping meals to pay rent and who are having difficulty taking on more part-time jobs out of concern it may negatively affect their studies.

Noting that "scholarship allowances are effectively decreasing because of inflation," DxP head Noriaki Imai urged the government to immediately carry out emergency financial aid for students in need and then introduce an inflation-linked scholarship payment system in the medium to long run.