Abstract: During the 30 years of Heisei, the poverty of Japanese women worsened. Young single women, single parent women(single mothers)and single elderly women constitute the main poverty groups of women. The poverty rate of the former exceeds 30%, and the latter two exceed 50%, far higher than the average level in Japan. The reason for womens poverty is that the traditional gender division of labor is still deeply rooted, and the institutional oppression and gender inequality in the workplace are still strong. Due to the unfriendly employment environment, poor women are in a disadvantageous position in the workplace. They are mostly engaged in informal employment with low wages and poor benefits. Over the past 30 years, the size of Japanese families has gradually shrunk and their functions have weakened. The social security system based on marriage relations has lagged behind the times. In particular, the arrival of the “single society” has actually exacerbated womens poverty. The Japanese government has launched a series of policies and measures to solve womens poverty, such as equal rights for men and women, promotion of womens participation in the workplace, and childcare support, but the effect is not as good as expected.

Key words: Japanese female, informal employment, poverty, income, employment, family