Poor People and Slums in Japan

In all countries there are always Slums, Squatters and poor people and Japan is no exception...

As we are in a country we have our very own slums and poverty line citizens even here in bacolod and some key cities around the country but its a real good find for me to know there are some people in Japan that are having similar lives to our less fortunate citizens.

something you must know:

The relative poverty rate of Japan —the proportion of the population living below 50 percent of the national median income—nearly doubled from 8.1 percent in 1994 to 13.5 percent in 2000 and increased to 14.9 percent in 2005. According to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) survey Japan was the second worst among advanced economies in 2000 in terms of relative poverty, partly because of the high number of non-regular workers.

Some people in japan especially older people especially those living on their own live in houses similar to those in the picture above, others live in the sidewalks and alleys while others live in tents pitched in places such as open areas like parks. some who live in the cities in tents and under bridges; single parent families; elderly people with small pensions; and temporary workers who sleep in Internet cafes. There are few slums in Japan and even the ones you do find are nothing likes those in India, Brazil or even America. Still, they often have no furniture, only cushions, and no bathrooms; families must use a public bath down the street.

Some poor Japanese  people live under bridges, in flophouse dormitories, or in train stations. The majority live in tents in parks. These tents are usually made of blue tarpaulins and the area around them is tidy and clean. Some tents have battery-powered televisions, stereos and even air conditioning. Many homeless have cell phones which they use to find work and bicycles, which they use to get from place to place and collect recyclable materials.

here are some reasons why there are some Japanese similar to us:

Surveys have indicated the reasons for homelessness include: 1) lack of employment (27 percent); 2) lay offs due to restructuring (13 percent); 3) lay offs due to due to age (10 percent); 4) job loss due to injury (7 percent); 5) failure iin changing jobs (9 percent); 6) personal problems (7 percent); 7) job loss due to employer’s bankruptcy (5 percent); 7) other reason (22 percent).

In Kamagasaki in Osaka is said to be Japan's largest slum concentration, Kamagasaki has been a place name since 1922. and has the largest day laborer concentration in the country. 30,000 people are estimated to live in every 2,000 meter radius in this area.

Some makeshift residents in Kamagasaki own a few dogs, this dogs are some of the few companions this people have they seve both as a friend and a loyal guard of their few properties in their small makeshift places.

Most homeless people earn money by working as day laborers. In Osaka and Tokyo there are places where they gather in the morning to find out what jobs are available that day. The jobs often pay reasonably well. Few Japanese homeless people panhandle for money. Some collect thrown-out food at bakeries, or restaurants. Some have pets such as dogs, cats or rabbits.

there are some places called a doya (ドヤ) hotels (cheap temporary rooms intended for day laborers) located in some areas around cities like Osaka and Tokyo.  there are some who stay in internet cafes and gaming stations, Some People began spending the night in Internet cafes in the early 2000s. Some Internet cafes charge customer about ¥200 an hour. Others have a flat fee of ¥980, including free coffee and soft drinks. The customers that show up are typically slightly grubby men with small rucksacks. while some People also stay at all-night karaokes and 24-hour DVD theaters. Many like the DVD theaters because people can stay there for ¥1,500 a night and get a small room—with a sofa, a large television and a DVD player—rather than a cubicle. Still these facilities tend be very cramped. The corridors between the rooms are so narrow that it s difficult to walk past someone even if both people turn sideways.

Many homeless people are heavy drinkers. Sochu is the liquor of choice. Some of the more down-and-out ones live in boxes of newspapers in Tokyo subway stations and eat discarded bento meals. Police generally leave homeless people alone. The biggest problem that homeless people have is getting through the cold winters.  Many have families they could live them but choose not out of shame.

Housing complexes for the poor are often filled with elderly people. Almost half of all welfare beneficiaries are 65 or older. Some receive nothing because they homeless and the government requires them to have a fixed address to get assistance. Others are too embarrassed or ashamed to apply for it. Most homeless people are single men over 50 who are down on their luck and have no contact with their families or relatives.

In Tokyo, shed-size wooden homes built by homeless have caught the attention of architects and art critics. Often collapsed so they can be moved quickly, the house sometimes have elaborate triangular roofs and framing to keep it erect. Some have tatami floors, solar-powered electricity and gardens with bonsai shrubs and carefully-trimmed camellias. it seems technology is never out to date to this less fortunate people.

Luckily some kind hearted-people, religous groups such as churches and some NGO's both locally and internationally these Non-profit and religious organizations frequently give out food rations. 

I hope this post has enlightened some few readers who visit my blog that Japan is not always what it looks like, and to my fellow illongo otakus if your living below the poverty line there are also people like these in the country who is the 2nd most powerful economy in the world