Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

310 SESSION V
Tokyo and Yokohama, but with an emphasis on Tokyo;
and the second phase was from 6 November 2004 to
4 February 2005, and involved studying homelessness
in Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, with an emphasis on
Osaka.
The five topics of study were:
1. Perspective and background of the homeless.
2. Way of life and problems of the homeless.
3. Policy and roles of the local administrations in
solving the problem of homelessness (this paper
does not emphasize the role of the state or national
administration because in all three case studies,
there appears to be no national-level policy directly
addressing the issue of homelessness).
4. Roles of non-governmental organizations in
solving the problem of homelessness.
5. Networking of the homeless.
The three study methods were:
1. Participation in the activities of homeless groups
and NGOs that directly work with the homeless
(e.g., food serving, meetings, night patrol - tent
patrol, campaigning and negotiating with the
authorities, the Summer Festival, the New
Year Festival in winter, etc.). Joining these
activities provided a deeper understanding of
homelessness—not only the problem itself, but
also homeless people’s way of life, their way of
thinking and feeling, their experiences, and their
need to have the problem solved. Therefore, most
time was spent participating in the activities of the
homeless.
2. Interviewing people from different groups (e.g.,
leaders of homeless groups, local administration
officials, NGO workers, academics and members
of the general public). There were both formal
interviews and general conversations with various
groups in order to collect information.
3. Studying documents provided by both local
administrations and NGOs. Most consisted of
information about the background, problems,
experiences and methods in addressing the
problem of homelessness.
The Perspective and Background of Homelessness
Generally, Japan is viewed as being a developed and
rich country, with advanced technology and a diligent
people. Japan has intensive exports and investments in
many countries, but the data about the poor show that
about 3.5 million out of the total population of 127
million are unemployed. This figure amounts to 5% of
the entire working population. In addition, there are
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
around 30,000 homeless.
As for the homeless in Japan, some of them remain in
the metropolis in order to find jobs, while others are
scattered about in other smaller cities: 10,000 in Osaka;
8,000 in Tokyo; 2,500 in Nagoya; 2,000 in Yokohama;
800 in Kyoto; and 7,000 in other cities.
There is no information about the time that
homelessness as a phenomenon began to appear, but
it is certainly an effect of the industrial orientation of
the country’s development policy beginning after the
end of the Second World War. In 1945, land reform
was conducted in order to distribute land ownership to
the farmers, and there was investment in the industrial
sector that led to employment in big towns, such as
Kotobuki in Yokohama, Sanya in Tokyo, Kamagasaki
in Osaka, and in Nagoya.
Nevertheless, even though there was land reform for
farmers, many families still lacked a sufficient amount
of land for all family members. At the same time,
employment opportunities in cities attracted labor
from rural area. Until 1980, labor demand outstripped
the labor supply on the market. However, after that
point, daily workers began to become unemployed.
Soon, long-time unemployment made these workers
lack the money needed to pay rent and buy food, so
these daily workers were transformed into the homeless.
Such a phenomenon was not clear at that time, because
if the workers could find jobs, they would be able to
rent rooms and buy food for themselves. However, they
would fall back into homelessness once more if they lost
their jobs again.
Around 1989, the picture of the homeless began to
become clear. Pictures of people who slept along the
streets began to be seen in the areas of labor markets
such as Yoseba, and gradually expanded throughout the
cities of Tokyo and Osaka. In 1994, when Japan faced
an economic crisis, the number of homeless increased
and spread rapidly to Sanya, Sumida River, Ueno
Park, Shinjuku Park, Yoyogi Park and Toyama Park in
Tokyo, while in Osaka, they spread from Kamagasaki
to Nishinari Park, Osaka Castle Park, Ogimachi Park
and Nagai Park. The number of homeless also increased
in other cities like Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kyoto, and
spread to other cities in the country as well.
The Way of Life and Problems of the Homeless
Most of the homeless lived alone, with no groupings
or mutual reliance relations developing among them.
Ninety-five percent of the homeless were men, and