seikatsuhi

Seikatsuhi, or seikatsu-hi in Japanese, is the term for living expenses or the cost of living. It combines the characters for life or daily life (生活) and expenses (費), referring to the amount of money a person or household needs to cover everyday and essential costs.

In practice, seikatsuhi encompasses housing costs (rent or mortgage and related expenses), utilities, food, clothing, transportation, healthcare, and education. It may also include household supplies and insurance. Nonessential or discretionary spending, such as entertainment or luxury purchases, is often treated separately or considered only as a supplement to basic living costs, depending on the context. Seikatsuhi can vary widely depending on household size, location, and lifestyle.

In Japan, seikatsuhi is not published as a single official index, but the concept informs many statistical measures of household expenditure. Surveys such as the Family Income and Expenditure Survey collect category data that help analyze living costs and affordability. Welfare policies reference basic living costs when determining supports, with urban areas—especially large cities like Tokyo—tending to have higher seikatsuhi due to housing and transportation costs.

Internationally, the term roughly corresponds to “cost of living” or “living expenses” and is used in discussions of budgeting, expatriate allowances, and comparative economic analysis. It is closely related to concepts such as living wage and affordability, serving as a practical baseline for household budgeting and policy considerations. See also: cost of living, living wage, household budget, welfare benefits.