What does the news item say about the poverty in Japan?

Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly venting their frustrations over the country’s economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth-highest rate of poverty among developed countries. She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class. Abe attributes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics, struggling economy and high social security premiums. She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. And social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the threshold of poverty. Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)pointed to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008.