I got wisdom teeth pulled yesterday and it’s sooo painful 
The only complain I can make is how painful I got wisdom teeth pulled buuuuut is nothing compared to the topic I’m gonna write here.
One in 6 Japanese children lives in poverty, the highest level since records began in 1985, according to the latest government figures. That ratio rises to 55 percent among children in single parent families- among the worst for countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
One of the main factors hobbling the poor from getting ahead is the cost of education. Paying hefty cram school fees is a virtual necessity when it comes to passing high school entrance exams to get a shot at a decent job. Parents who cannot afford it risk condemning their children to a life of low paid work.
The prospect of a lost generation of educated workers in a country with one of the highest debt burdens- more than twice its annual economic output- is something the government can ill afford. Japan has compulsory education until the age of 15.
“If children are unable to exercise their full potential, it’s undoubtedly bad for the quality of the labor force and its dynamism,” Aya Abe, a professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University who researches poverty and social exclusion, said in an interview. “Failure to invest in overcoming poverty will damp economic growth.”
Already faced with an aging population and declining workforce, the government risks losing about ¥96 million per person in lifetime taxes and welfare payments because disadvantaged youngsters fail to forge successful careers, Abe said.
Japanese kids who lack financial resources are far less likely to stay in school through the age of 18 or beyond, government statistics show, in a nation where about two-thirds of students attend cram schools and tuition fees for one subject can cost tens of thousands of yen a month.
Those on welfare risk passing poverty on to the next generation, as their lack of qualifications means they later struggle to earn enough to educate their own children, Abe said.
A boy who grew up with a single mom and an older brother, dropped out of school at 15 to look for a job.
Now 19, he remembers growing up in a “small, dark, dirty “ apartment while his mom worked from early morning to late at night, after he’d gone to bed. The brothers often skipped meals and brought home bread rolls and cheese from the school canteen.
“I wanted to work as soon as possible to get money,” he said. “I was always hungry and looking for something to eat. I didn’t want to live like that anymore.”
While Japan provides relatively equal access to education, the numbers of children on welfare who go on to higher schooling dwindle as they go through the system.
As for higher education, less than a fifth of low-income students make it to university, compared with more than 51 percent of the general population, according to government figures.
Fees for public high school add up to ¥400,000 a year, while private schools average roughly ¥1 million, according to education ministry statistics. Getting admitted in the first place is a hurdle for poorer families because tuition fees for the extra classes add up.
“I was going around in circles and getting anxious,” said one single mother-of-two of her 15-year-old son’s struggle in junior high school. “If he hadn’t gotten into a public high school, he might have had to leave and find a job,” said the 46-year-old woman, who requested anonymity for herself and her son, for fear of being ostracize.
Families can fall into poverty after a divorce, and need a broad range of support, including housing, mental health treatment and job training.
Someone who has been a homemaker often won’t have up-to-date skills or much experience. Even if they work long hours, their income is extremely low.
Under the circumstances, finding the time and energy to help their kids keep up at school is often difficult. The single mother, for example, she took a second job to try to make ends meet, meaning she is out of the house from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. each day.