The Japan Times
'No one wants to be homeless': A glimpse at life on the streets of Tokyo
Being homeless carries a powerful stigma in Japan, where society traditionally places strong importance on self-reliance.
The method by which the ministry collects data — local officials patrolling areas during the afternoon and making informal observations — has been criticized as inaccurate.
2019
Themes:
Japan tries to tackle health problems of aging homeless
Public and private efforts are gathering pace to address the increase in the number of elderly homeless Japanese.
A nationwide survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found 5,534 people living on the streets or riverbanks as of January 2017, with many of them in urban areas such as central Tokyo’s 23 wards and the city of Osaka.
Their average age was 61.5 as of October 2016, a rise of a
2018
Themes:
Homeless in Tokyo: Fallen through society's cracks and frozen out
In Japan the homeless are ignored, not just by the government but also the public, and this sets off a vicious cycle. It is left to volunteer groups to provide food and essentials to the homeless population of Tokyo.
“Twenty million people live below the poverty line within Japan.
2017
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."