Why does Japan have poverty? is it because of their government? or what?

Like all the other people above said, every country has unfortunately some poverty. Japan is no exception, although the numbers are far less than in most industrialized nations. However, what makes it more difficult for Japan's poor is the higher social stigma associated with their condition. In a country where hard work is akin to a religion, being poor is seen by most "normal" Japanese at par with a character flaw. Poor people are seen with little empathy or compassion, and will therefore be reluctant to seek help from the few relief agencies, they will be social outcast, and will find themselves with nowhere to go. I don't have hard facts, but I heard from Japanese friends that poverty is linked with a high rate of suicide. Edit: This being said, I have a "academic" or second-hand (meaning, from what I read) understanding of the systemic causes of poverty in Japan, but do not have a practical or first-hand knowledge of the realities there.Like many foreigners, I have or romantic view of Japan, and that's why your question puzzled me. "Poverty in Japan? You got to be kidding?" was my first reaction, until I searched a little. Interesting.

Many people invested their time and money in college, when the Japanese bubble economy burst in 1990, many of these people were left with bills and no job. People living on farms can't grow enough food to feed themselves, and sell to make a profit to pay for other things. Plus only about 15% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation and most of that is owned by companies. Some have made bad financial investments. Some simply don't have enough working people within their families to support everyone, for example, one son trying to support his elderly mother and father. Of course there is also gambling problems, drugs, alcohol, and laziness. There is also the fact that if you are born poor, you will very likely die poor. It’s pretty much the same reasons people are poor in the US. But one thing that’s better about US is that you can find a cheap place to live and the government will help you. In Japan a lot of the cities are extremely expensive to live in and there is nothing cheaper, plus the government doesn’t really care about the poor.

poverty has always existed in Japan as it has in every country. People lose their jobs, can't find work for various reasons - health, age, sex, etc... Others make enough just to get by on and are part of the working poor class. Pretty much the same reason poverty exists in other modern nations is the same as in Japan though the poverty level is lower than most modern countries.

because of the government? No government can be perfect. Every social phenomenon you see contains or follows any principles. Such as; Pareto principle, aka 80-20 rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle Zipf's law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%27s_law The Long Tail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail But I guess Burunei has less poverty (maybe almost zero). It is a Muslim kingdom though.

the economy has been in recession for decades now. companies cut jobs and that leads to poverty. the government hasn't done anything to fix it.

That is as same question as why does many undeveloped countries still have rich.

not everybody is a genius in Japan.some people actually have to work hard just to stay afloat

Capitalism, perhaps?

Like you said, every country has it. Japan isn't that bad compared to some countries. The only poverty I've seen is in the farming villages for obvious reasons.