Japan's foreign language education market is growing, with learners more than willing to fork out plenty of money on lessons, DVDs or e-learning. Gaba says that on average, a student spends about 50,000 yen ($654) a month [on English conversation lessons] -- against an average 36,500 yen allowance for Japanese businesspeople.
NHK found that a substantial portion of the recipients are able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 60. The number of unemployed in Japan hovers just under the 5 million mark, and as one case worker explained, most of the new additions to the welfare rolls are men who were employed as haken (contract workers), non-regular employees who could be laid off easily.