The Homeless People in Japan
This is what most people don’t know about Japan.
Homelessness was largely unknown in Japan until the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s and unemployment began to rise. – BBC
At the beginning of the 1990s, the homeless in Japan were viewed as nuisance. The government tried to get rid of the street people “because the environment there needed beautification”. – Wikipedia
According to street-papers.org, there are 25,296 homeless people in Japan.
Some of these homeless people live in the side of the street with their card-board houses.
Some in tunnels and underground stations.
The homeless prefer to freeze outside rather than be frozen by officialdom’s coldness. – share-international.org
Note: The photos were taken in Fujisawa, Ueno, Yoyogi and Shibuya.
Tags: homeless, Japan, photojournalism, social problem, tokyo
Always good to report these images. In 1992 and 1993, it was very obvious in the corridors of Shinjuku: homeless had their cardboard houses one after another one. The government clean the area.
Good work
Denis
wow! this is an eye opener! and to think that Japan is a first world country… interesting…
and i love your photos, as always. :)
Your photos remind us that so many people are suffering everywhere, and yet they are being ignored by their government– and no country is an exception.
Awesome photos, Jess! I especially love the glamorous graffiti contrasted against the homeless person (first photo) and the emptiness of the photo and the man’s eyes (last photo). :)
i never thought there are homeless people in japan… the shots are heartrending…
Great photos. Japan tries very hard to hide things like slums and homeless and therefore many people think they don’t exist. Japan is a great place, but it does have problems like any other country.
Its like this everywhere. Its the worst I think in California. I know whenever I visit for work, we stay at the Ramada Inn. Located in Barstow. You cant walk anywhere without getting stopped at least 3 times for change. Upon entering buildings its the worst. I mean I will give you some change but what does that do? Nothing, you get tired of giving your change away eventually. A friend of mine gave a guy 20$. We seem him the next day, and he asked us for money again…seriously? Find a shelter, Get a job. Do something besides ask for change. Everyone of them has a different story as to why they need change also. One guy asked us if we had some change, then asked us to sell him a “blunt” of weed.