Are We Getting Closer to Consensus? An Analysis of Changes in Socially Perceived Necessities Over Time in Japan

The measurement of poverty using the material deprivation scale has become widespread throughout the world. One of the technical challenges in constructing the material deprivation scale is the identification of socially perceived necessities. Researchers have used methods ranging from focus groups to separate public opinion surveys to develop a list of socially perceived necessities. However, material deprivation is a relative concept. As society undergoes economic, demographic and political change, the list needs to be reviewed for relevance. The aim of this study was to examine the stability of perceptions of children's necessities in Japan at a time when public awareness of child poverty in Japan has risen sharply. The results of the analysis show that, using the 50% criterion, the list of socially perceived necessities for children has been surprisingly stable over 20 years. However, there has been a statistically significant change in the public's perception of necessity for 16 of the 25 items, even after controlling for age, gender, income and whether they have children. Furthermore, the analysis shows that although the consensus between genders and between income quintile groups is fairly stable or converging, there is a greater divergence in the consensus between age groups and between respondents with and without children. In a society with increasing numbers of elderly and childless people, we need to be increasingly careful that the items selected for the deprivation scale not only meet the 50% criteria, but are also agreed by different segments of the population.