Photo/Illutration The welfare ministry's website urges those in economic distress to apply for public assistance. (Captured from the welfare ministry's website)

The welfare ministry is trying to eradicate the stigma of people applying for public assistance by widely publicizing the fact it is a right of anyone facing dire economic circumstances, especially in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Ministry officials are keen to ensure that those in need of help do not hesitate to apply before their situation becomes a matter of life or death.

The welfare ministry’s website has posted numerous messages calling on those in financial distress to apply right away.

Groups dedicated to supporting those in need also took up the banner by sending out messages over social media from the evening of Dec. 25 urging those requiring public assistance to apply for it.

A new section of the welfare ministry’s website was set up from Dec. 22 to urge people to consult with their nearest social welfare office if they need public assistance.

It aims to dispel a commonly held misunderstanding and explain that applications can be made without consulting with relatives the individuals do not live with.

The page also states that those without a fixed address or even those who own their own homes can still apply.

Internet ads taken out by the welfare ministry contain similar messages.

The welfare ministry has waged a publicity blitz on the issue of public assistance since summer by distributing, for example, a pamphlet on livelihood support measures that explains public assistance is a right available to all citizens.

Even so, many people remain hesitant about applying for government help due to ingrained prejudice and misunderstanding toward those on the dole.

“We want to link up the appropriate support measures to those who need it as quickly as possible before the situation becomes a truly pressing one,” said a ministry official in charge of the issue.

Tsuyoshi Inaba, who heads Tsukuroi Tokyo Fund, an organization that supports those in economic distress, discovered the welfare ministry page on Dec. 23 and tweeted: “The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has finally become very serious about this issue. We heartily welcome this move.”

According to Inaba, many of those who consulted with his group since the pandemic began are aged in their 20s to 40s. He noted that even if they only have a few hundred yen in their pockets, some still refuse to apply for public assistance.

For most local government offices, Dec. 28 will be the last business day this year until Jan. 3.

Inaba, worried that some people may fall through the safety net, called on like-minded groups Dec. 25 to also send out tweets encouraging those hesitating to seek public assistance to apply immediately.

A deluge of tweets swept social networking sites between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Dec. 25.

“We wanted to appeal to the younger generation who are more familiar with social media in order to create the mood in society that public assistance is a program that anyone can use,” Inaba said.

Welfare ministry officials reported a 1.8-percent increase in public assistance applications in September over the same month a year ago.

It marked the first year-on-year increase in applications in five months. Experts suggested applications would now soon rise sharply in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases.

(This article was written by Takashi Kiyokawa, a senior staff writer, and Haruna Ishikawa.)

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