Homeless in Tokyo - Tokyo

In a city where real estate is at a premium the homeless have created their own 'unreal estate'. Along the footpath of the river Sumida in Tokyo's, touristic Asakusa district, a line of blue huts. Neat, well constructed, tented with bright blue tarpaulin sheets, that are weighted with water filled 5 litre sake bottles. Along side each hut are bags of crushed cans, clear plastic boxes packed with computer components and outdated computer games, 'upgrade victims'. The huts are clean and organized, clothes hung out to dry between them, shoes lined up just inside the hinged doors. Even the footpath is spotless, only when the huts finish, do the weeds start to appear. The picture is repeated in other central areas of Tokyo such as Ueno park near the national Museum, Miyashita park in trendy Sibuya area or Yoyogi Park near the alternative area Harajuku. Other areas host homeless people who live on the streets, lying cartons to sleep on in front of department stores at night, wondering in the streets during the day. They have over the years become an alternative community living its parallel life, not mixing with the busy everyday working crowd that tries to ignore them. There they are accepted and they have a role, in the mainstream they are neither wanted nor accepted. To the mainstream they are lazy and do not want jobs. When they are not working in part time jobs, the homeless go on patrols checking out the situation of their people, work in food kitchens, demonstrate for their rights or collect money for medical supplies. It is remminisant of the Hippie communities of the sixties, but where the hippies attached political believes to an hedonistic escape, the homeless are attaching communities to the political reality of life below the Japanese poverty line.

For futher information contact:
photo@androniki.com

LINKS:

Homeless in Japan - Shinjuku's Homeless (Tokyo Observer) http://www.twics.com/~anzu/archive/1995/2-Homel.html

The Homeless: Villains, or Victims? By Michael H. Fox, http://www.zmag.org/japanwatch/9908-homeless.html

The Homeless's movement in Tokyo http://homepage3.nifty.com/shelter-less/english/eng_idx.html
l
The Japan Times
Homeless hawkers fight turf war Cops, thugs add to Yoyogi street vendors' hardscrabble life http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20021116c1.htm
READERS IN COUNCIL Get the parks under control http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?rc20020911a1.htm
Police team to probe deaths of homeless men http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020813a3.htm
New law may raise prospects for homeless But reality of attaining independence beyond welfare pay a tall order http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020730b1.htm
Society still treating homeless as pariahs Little has changed since five boys tortured and killed man in Tokyo park http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020713b6.htm
Homeless join forces in relief-law march http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020427a6.htm
Teens face prosecution over slaying of homeless man http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020129b3.htm
Three 14-year-olds arrested over death of homeless man http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020128a4.htm
Boys sought over attack that killed homeless man http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020127b6.htm
Man injured by bomb in park trash can http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020120a4.htm
Imperial eyes shielded from reality of homelessness http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20011107b7.htm
Homeless rally for job, shelter bill passage http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20011006b1.htm
Government to build extra shelters for homeless http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010831a8.htm
Homeless man arrested over murder http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010810b5.htm
Homeless man set on fire in Osaka http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010730a7.htm
Food Bank Japan finds success Volunteers help to fill the stomachs of 30,000 needy http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010703c2.htm
Food Bank Japan to aid homeless American empathizes through firsthand experience http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20001029a1.htm
http://www.foodbankjapan.org

Tokyo's homeless population up: survey http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010310a8.htm
Homelessness being tackled from new angle http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010114b3.htm
State plans two big homeless shelters http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001128b7.htm