Factors for Widening Income Inequality

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Using anonymous data from the "National Consumption Survey," we found the following result. The real equivalent income distribution of households with two or more individuals began to skew toward the lower income groups beginning in 1994, with the proportion of households with an income of 3.2 million yen or less rising slightly from 1994 to 1999 and the rise becoming more pronounced during the period 1999-2004.The same things hold true for the income distribution under 60. The income inequality within the working population aged below 60, which has been widening since 1994, was hardly affected by population aging, with an increase in disparities within each age group of the working population. This widening income gap and shift toward lower incomes indicates the necessity to reconsider Japan's wage and social security systems.