Japan has now seen a long stretch of relentless price rises, leaving people struggling with high living costs. For the Oct. 27 House of Representatives election, we urge both the ruling and opposition parties to present some tangible hope that can dispel public worries over their livelihoods.

Since the turn of the year, the Japanese economy has shown signs of breaking with the prolonged stagnation that followed the burst of the economic bubble in the early 1990s. Japan's nominal gross domestic product reached a record high, as did domestic stock prices. Wages rose at a rate not seen in 33 years in this spring's labor negotiations.

And yet, many may not feel the effects of these seemingly positive signs.

Beneficiaries of pay hikes are primarily regular employees of large companies that have enjoyed strong earnings thanks to the weak yen, leaving the rest of the people, including nonregular employees such as contract workers and temp staff that make up nearly 40% of the nation's workforce, on the outside looking in. And real wages, with the effects of inflation subtracted, posted a year-on-year decline in August.

One Sendai resident in her 30s working as a nonregular employee for a restaurant chain saw her hourly wage rise by 40 yen from just barely above minimum wage to 1,000 yen (approx. $6.69) this past April. She rejoiced, until she soon found out that her shifts had been reduced, shortening her working hours. In the end, her take-home pay was the same as before.

'No future prospect' for families with children

Her company did not explain the change, and speculation grew at her workplace that it was aimed at keeping labor costs down. She became painfully aware of how vulnerable a position she was in as a nonregular worker.

Her husband works for another company, and the couple barely earns 3 million yen (approx. $20,000) or so a year. This is barely enough for a family with two children, one in elementary school and the other in kindergarten. It's been a while since she last bought new clothes for herself, and the family refrains from traveling together. They have managed to make ends meet with bargain items at supermarkets, but soaring rice prices dealt them a severe blow.

Further education costs for children are looming, making the couple uneasy about their uncertain future. They are thinking about getting second jobs, which may be physically taxing but appears inevitable.

Rising prices are taking a serious toll on families with children. In a Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare survey last year, 65% of households with children under the age of 18 said they were struggling to make a living, up 10 percentage points from the previous poll in 2022.

In campaigning for the Oct. 27 general election, each political party has highlighted their countermeasures against high prices. It is necessary to provide aid focusing on low-income earners, yet many of those parties' measures look more like mere pork-barreling than precision support.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that his administration intends to compile a 10 trillion yen ($66.87 billion)-plus supplementary budget. The government is considering extending subsidies to help curb rising gasoline, electricity and gas bills. It has already allotted over 10 trillion yen for the scheme, which also benefits high-income earners.

Many opposition parties argue for reducing consumption tax burdens. Yet revenues from the sales tax are helping finance social security costs, which continue their steady upwards march due to the aging population. It cannot be said that those parties have come up with reliable alternative revenue sources.

These measures could all leave the country with even more debt. With Japan already heavily in debt, these proposed policies may only end up passing the bills on to future generations.

A mere rerun of stopgap measures would not help relieve public anxiety. The more vulnerable a position people are in, the more impacts they will suffer from price hikes. The key is to change such social structures.

Set clear path for correcting disparities

The Abenomics economic policy mix, launched more than 10 years ago under then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, aimed for high growth, with a focus on massive monetary easing. Under the initiative, the yen's depreciation and high share prices continued, benefiting big companies and the affluent. But this wealth did not trickle down to small and midsized companies and low-income earners as intended, only widening the economic gap.

Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida advocated for a "new capitalism" and initially emphasized wealth redistribution, yet he gradually turned back to the Abenomics policy line. The prolonged monetary easing further drove the yen's value down while accelerating price increases.

BNP Paribas chief economist Ryutaro Kono pointed out, "The risks facing household budgets are significant. If people are left feeling insecure, consumption will not pick up. It's imperative to develop a system where people can work without worries, such as allowing nonregular workers to join social insurance programs in principle."

What is urgently needed is to rectify disparities. There will be no viable healthy economic growth if the country maintains an uneven wealth structure.

It is essential to improve safety nets and create an inclusive society. If workers' anxieties are relieved, consumption will naturally grow. This will help boost the sales of small and midsized companies, making it easier for them to raise wages. We urge that such a positive cycle be brought about.

It is also crucial to raise Japan's minimum wage, which is a far cry from global standards. Both the ruling and opposition parties have set forth a policy to aim for accelerating minimum wage hikes. Yet concerns among smaller businesses that they "cannot hold up under the burdens" of such pay raises have not been resolved.

It is the role of politics to set a clear and concrete path toward how we can establish a society where people can live with peace of mind, by working out fresh economic measures.