Japan’s household income gap remains near record high amid pandemic

The income gap among Japan’s households has remained close to the record-high disparity logged in 2014, a government survey conducted in 2021 showed Tuesday, with the coronavirus pandemic likely having hit temp workers hard.

The key parameter for measuring income inequalities, known as the Gini coefficient, came to 0.5700, worsening 0.0106 point from the previous study in 2017, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said. The 2017 figure showed a slight improvement from 2014, when the gap marked the highest-ever 0.5704.

A Gini coefficient of 1 expresses maximum inequality, where only one perso...