Politics: Homeless in Japan

Since the economic decline during the 1990's Japan is forced to deal with an increase in unemployed and homeless in it's major cities. Osaka has the largest number at around 7,000 by the official count, but the real number is closer to 10,000. Most people not familiar with Japan would be surprised by this fact. The government is taking steps to deal with this increasing problem, however it seems that it is treated more as an aesthetic problem rather than a social one. When I first arrived in Japan, I didn't seen any signs of homelessness. The fact that I live near a major metropolitan area, yet didn't see these things intrigued me. I knew that there had to be a good deal of unemployed people in the Osaka area just like any other large urban center. It turns out that local governments try their best to keep the homeless out of sight and out of mind. With the lack of government aid, an interesting thing has happened; Large groups of homeless people have joined together to form a sort of co-op style of living in the shanty towns of Tokyo and Osaka. They have their own elected officials and night time safety patrols. With the growing size and complexity of these shanty towns, public officials worry about the the image of the areas in which these people live. Often times the inhabitants of these shanty-towns are forced to relocate or consolidate in out of side areas. Public officials claim that park renovations and public beautification projects as grounds for eviction.
As global recession looms, Japan must come to terms with a social problem that will only get worse with time. Simply putting these people out of sight will accomplish nothing


Osaka Shanty Town
Al Jazeera english report


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