Photo/Illutration People wait in line for free food on New Year's Eve in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo’s Toshima Ward. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nearly 44 percent of people in Japan have lost weight or gone an entire day without eating because they could not afford to buy food, a university survey showed.

The survey, conducted by the Institute of Science Tokyo, placed such people who do not eat enough food to maintain their health into the “food security crisis group,” and this category has expanded because of rising food prices.

The survey combined a series of online polls on a total of 10,000 people nationwide in February.

The researcher who conducted the study used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food security survey as a reference and created eight “crisis” questions, including, “In the past year, have you worried about running out of food before gaining more money?”

Respondents who chose “very true” or “sometimes true” to the questions were placed in the “food security crisis group.” They accounted for 43.8 percent of all respondents.

The crisis ratio was slightly higher among men.

Individuals from low-income households, younger people and those living in rural areas were more likely to fall into the food security crisis category.

People whose highest academic level was junior high school, high school or junior college were at higher risk of a food security crisis than those who have graduated from university or completed graduate school.

By region, more than 50 percent of people in Tohoku and Kyushu were in the crisis group.

TIED TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Takeo Fujiwara, director of the Institute of Innovate Research at the Institute of Science Tokyo whose expertise is public health, conducted the survey and was surprised by the results.

“It’s not that there’s a lack of food. I was shocked by the fact that such a large number of people in Japan have refrained from buying food because of financial reasons,” Fujiwara said.

He also believes that a low priority on nutrition and health and a lack of easy access to grocery stores are contributing factors.

The initial purpose of the survey was to learn about people’s awareness of climate change.

However, he found a connection between global warming and the food crisis group. Basically, those who lack food are more affected by climate change and more likely to say that countermeasures are needed.

The survey respondents were asked to assess this statement: “Abnormal weather, such as extreme summer heat or torrential rain, has affected your health.”

Only 7.5 percent of those not in the food crisis category answered “yes” to that statement, less than half of the 18.2 percent of those in the food crisis group.

The respondents were also asked to assess: “I would vote for a politician who proactively addresses climate change.”

Positive replies were given by 37.3 percent of all respondents. However, the figure rose to 43.7 percent among those in the food crisis group.

Fujiwara believes that direct countermeasures alone are not enough to end the food security crisis. He believes steps to address climate change are also required.

“Those in the food security crisis group are often in socially vulnerable positions,” Fujiwara said. “The survey results indicate they are more affected by climate change.”

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