Photo/Illutration Children participate in a soccer lesson event in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in October 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

An elementary school boy suddenly sat on his heels and told his mother tearfully, “I want to play soccer.”

The mother, a single parent working a nonregular job, is struggling to make ends meet and the boy knows how tough that must be.

Still, after stoically giving up many things he really wanted because he did not want to worry his mother, he finally broke down one day and begged to play soccer.

Mother and son wept together.

The above is a true story that is told in a book by Yusuke Imai, titled “Taiken Kakusa” (Personal experience disparity).

The mother told Imai that since she hadn’t been able to let her son take piano or abacus lessons, she really wanted him to learn to play soccer.

However, she continued, even if she could just afford his monthly soccer lesson fees, she still wouldn’t be able to take him to practice in time because she’d still be at work.

There are children who can play sports, travel, watch live performances and so on. In other words, they can experience anything they are interested in. And there are also children who just cannot, no matter how much they want an experience.

Traditionally, this “disparity” in personal experience among children has been blamed on “parents who don’t make enough of an effort,” or been simply dismissed as irrelevant.

But the issue started receiving attention after it became clear that the disparity has much to do with childhood poverty.

A survey by a support group found that one in three children from households making less than 3 million yen ($20,100) a year have had “zero experience” in activities unrelated to school in the past year.

As for children from households making 6 million yen or more a year, only one in 10 had “zero experience” in the past year.

The disparity becomes especially noticeable during the school summer holidays—a time for activities such as camping, attending fireworks displays and going swimming at the beach.

In a different survey, many financially strapped families are said to have replied that “summer holidays are not necessary” or “the holidays should be much shorter” because they “do not have the luxury” to let their children experience typical summer holiday activities.

To reduce the disparity, a growing number of NPOs are providing programs for disadvantaged children to enjoy various experiences for free.

I hope this information will reach such children and their overworked parents or guardians.

Childhood memories of fun and excitement will become treasures for life.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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