Park life

Instead of rice balls, I bet they would appreciate a nice hot Onecup of sake on a cold winter day a lot more.

Awesome. Be sure they are well fed, clean, check up their healths, warm clothes and blankets. Keep up good work. I used to help lot of people. But now I am very sick. Getting old.

@nisegaijin

With lower taxes communities would be more generous and donations for the disabled and those who really need them will rise.

Right. So if we lower your taxes you will then buy a bunch of rice balls and hand them out to these guys? Mm, thought not. Leave it to someone else, right? Well there goes that theory.

People are homeless for many reasons, and the answer is not always as simple as "go and get a job and pay rent like everyone else"."

I realize your point on that social-issue, that is why i did not comment on it.. since there is really nothing to argue on the point. Japan is a conformist nation, that is why it was capable of such economic, political, social, at time religious changes. Some would say, in the economists field, that for a nation to rise in GDP, per capita included, social tension will arise naturally.. however in Japan, that largely did not occur on the scale of the west. In hindsight, put simply, in the old days, if you didnt smoke, you were treated differently, if you spoke a southern accent in tokyo, you were treated differently.. the age old dogma of social class, still pervades at times. Conformity has always been our key strength, & now it seems our weakness. We always chased other nations, yet when it comes to nations chasing us.. we lose the plot. If you want to save the homeless, get them work.. and meaningful ones at that. Get them to the country, give them, jobs in nurturing mountains, ecological projects of conservation, etc. It has been seen, that Oysters, well basically all marine life rely on nutrients from land. As, plankton, which Oysters, therein, the entire marine food chain, feeds upon, consumes nutrients that are derived from soil, that washes from the mountains, from the land.. Ensuring proper care of the ecological diversity, basically nature, will ensure, industry in both land & marine spheres of the economy allowing growth, more sustainability, and ensure, economic viability. .. but thats just me..

and with their company

@Verisimilitude

how many of the homeless today lost their jobs, because they could not cope with the technological changes

Actually a thing that came to my mind was, how many of the successful survivors ate the companies could keep their job despite they are unable to cope with the technological changes, for they are winners in keeping up with the changes in human resource management and their with company unrealistic and cruel social requirements by hoisting their faked colors and shifting responsibility onto one another, .....just inside their own firm. Seems they possess some kind of creativity, don't they. A different kind of creativity.

Now that's, .......yes, dystopian in and out beyond the misery of the homeless and is growing unlikely villain.

Otherwise, agreed everything you wrote. We are on the same page, just this little thing I mentioned above. Too bad I can't see the tomorrows.

Some of you people are rally mean.

Not one person I have talked to wants to be homeless. And the wife kicking them out is bull. A real man would tell his woman...huh?

Get your acts together and take care of these people.

@The Munya Times The fine line between a dystopian and Utopian society.. is the very definition of society. If one looks at the Japanese economy, in the last 150 years, and the British/American models since the industrial revolution, most would say it is a blur, entwined only through technological innovations.. nonetheless, the systems that manage technology, its implementations, & human adaptability to it, is key. Another perspective would be, how many of the homeless today lost their jobs, because they could not cope with the technological changes, i.e implementation of new hardware, & so on. METI has always supported industry, in terms of technology, innovation & implementation. Offering financial incentives to student & so on. Nonetheless, we do not invest in importing new talents beyond certain niche industries, whats more, as people are well are, the Japanese education system is flawed, in that it teaches children rules, for them to obey, but not to tell them that rules exist, so that they can understand the limitations, therein go beyond it. Japan has great intellectual capacity, however, it is lacking in fostering creativity. And without creative minded intellectuals in government, nothing will change.

How many of them are hardworking, talented men (they all seem to be men) who lost the fight inside the company for keeping their job despite their nice work achievement, while the pushy, the aggressive and the arrogant with good career technique, including endless night work alcoholism, survived.

Keeping job and get money has very little to do with good work performance today. Maybe they just lost their last chances before the HR, during the interviews when they failed to give stupid answers to their stupid questions.

Not even Huxley put it that bad in his Brave New World although everybody could see he described hell.

Hide SuzukiFeb. 25, 2012 - 12:44PM JST @VicMOsaka Wrong, some people do choose to be homeless, because they get sick of all the responsibilities. "Japan needs to give more help for their own people instead of giving billions overseas."-------

You can't help those who don't want to be helped. ----( Not sure what you really mean by that statement. )

Hell, there would be very few who would choose such a lifestyle living under a bridge or a piece of blue sheet in Japan. One of the bigest problem in Japan is the very low basic wage. A person earning such a wage just wouldn't be able to afford a decent dwelling plus pay for all the other necessities. And to top it off, you need to find a job. This means that a person is unable to secure a permanent address to enable proper employment.

http://danieldiaztecles.blogspot.com/For if, in comparison with other countries seem to be better, in Spain is issued daily, a TV spot called "Spanish in the world," and coincidentally issued a report on the poor people in Tokyo meet in the park, but live fully organized without disturbing anyone, according to the documentary, the people in the park especially for the day, deceiving his family into believing they are going to work and that the honor, in Japan is very important. I can guarantee that if you see the poor villages in Spain, you would be paralyzed. Sometimes countries act as one large onion, layers and layers to reach the center. I am against poverty, hungry, and I am in favor of that I need, which is happy when I walk. And when I have money I help all I can.

I guess the park is their home, in a manner of speaking.

most of the guys had been "kicked out of the house" by the wife...

in that case i might be joining them soon

These guys get first dibs on the best hanami spots.

over the years I have worked with many "homeless" here in Tokyo, mostly in the Sanya area. One thing that was always interesting, was their reasons for "being homeless." In Sanya most of the guys were "blue collar" and lack of employment was the biggest reason, followed by some cultural discriminations... outside the Sanya area, ie: Shibuya, Shinjuku... most of the guys had been "kicked out of the house" by the wife... The population definitely fluctuates with the economy.

They have pride. What about you?

What a bunch of nonsense! My pride would never allow me to take any handouts!

My pride tells me to go out there and earn my own food!

Plenty of homelessness in the US, despite the free market.

Free food is good. Most of these people are happy to get it. My friends and I always give them food and drink, and sit down and talk with them. They have pride. What about you?

@Qauecernaeck

Do yo u speak Japanese? I have always been thanked.

These guys are down on their luck... I wish them the best.

However, I don't think that handing out free food is a solution. It's a nice gesture but it won't help them much in the long term.

In fact, there's no easy solution. Also, many homeless people are mentally ill. You can give them housing, food and even some employment and they will just drift back onto the street. Alcoholism is there too.

But we should always try to treat them with dignity and protect them against people who would do them harm, difficult as that might be.

JapanGal: Have any of you posters ever considered going down to the local convenient store, buying a bunch of rice balls and handing them out?*

Don't do this, I've tried something like this once and embarrassed the person involved and in turn myself.

In my book, homeless is a crime by the state

so where in your book, working hard and earning to buy a home fit in? If you can qualify for a free home by being homeless, why do you have to work?

The homeless don't qualify for welfare because they don't have a permanent address, WELL WHOOP DEE DOO that just about does it for red tape in this country.

@bicultural I don't watch Japanese news. Are the tokushus in depth? Do they say they interviewed say 500 homeless people in the Tokyo area and here are a handful of their stories? I am wondering about the professor. Was he checked out? Really a professor? In what? How long was he teaching? How long was he homeless? What was he doing for meals? Where are these "takidashi" places? Churches? Local city offices? Are they able to feed everyone who drops by? I know in L.A. and NYC there are just too many people that the organizations (many though they are) aren't able to feed all who enter their premises. Some cities though are more than able to help even though the the meal may just be a pb&j sandwich and hot instant coffee.

The media never interviews these so called homeless.

Netninja, completely false. You must not watch the news in Japanese much. They often do a "tokushu" or a short documentary about the homeless. A recent one I saw was about the increasing number of homeless people in their 30s. Also, some homeless people actually do choose to be homeless, but they are by far the minority. I can think of one dude they interview in Ueno who was reading a book in French. When interviewed by the media he shared his background (he was a professor) and the reasons for choosing this lifestyle. There are so many places offering "takidashi" so homeless people can receive enough food to get by.

@VicMOsaka

Wrong, some people do choose to be homeless, because they get sick of all the responsibilities.

"Japan needs to give more help for their own people instead of giving billions overseas."

You can't help those who don't want to be helped.

@VicMOsaka I am wondering about the homeless being able to access free hospital treatments. A Japanese nurse once told me anyone who seeks medical help must have a hokensho. I asked her what about a tourist? She just stared at me and told me if you are in Japan and you go to a Japanese hospital then you must have hokensho. If you don't have kokuminhoken or shakaihoken, the hospital can not help. Just wondering if a tourist with cash in hand can't get medical help, how can a homeless individual with no money get help? BTW, thumbs up to you and NetNinja.

While a few miles away the papered, useless, parasitic emperor and his family sit in the lap of luxury. Obscene.

Have any of you posters ever considered going down to the local convenient store, buying a bunch of rice balls and handing them out?

No. People need to fight for their right to prosperity. if they give up, i can't help them. one rice ball isn't going to change anything, they will be accustomed to getting free rice balls for the rest of their lives and more will join. Besides, I pay enough in taxes anyway! where does this money go?

What can change is if government takes their heads out of their arses and starts working on opening up the free market and getting rid of useless taxes and regulations. If Japan would put more effort on economic freedom, most of these guys would end up getting a job, or even start their own businesses. With lower taxes communities would be more generous and donations for the disabled and those who really need them will rise.

Government has failed, it needs to get out of the way, out of our lives and let the people decided their own fate by mechanism of free market and invisible hand.

Have any of you posters ever considered going down to the local convenient store, buying a bunch of rice balls and handing them out?

@Patty Cake

Yoooo, you need to pay VicMOsaka at least 10,000 yen. He just gave you an education. He just hit the nail on the head like POOW!!

Now Patty Cake I'm not saying that you didn't hear what you, yourself, heard. Someone told you that I'm sure. The government loves such rumors cause it helps them sleep at night as a society. Think about it, as a mayor or governer, you can't have people thinking you don't help Japan's poor. So instead they make up this ridiculous claim that they're beach bums or something to that effect.

The media never interviews these so called homeless. Imagine if we actually believed the idea that they want to be out there.

NHK: So let me understand this correctly, you enjoy being poor and living on the street? Dreg-san: Yeah man, it's a blast. I don't have to pay any bills and the ladies love me. Check this out. I built my own house out of cardboard. I've got my own garden right here. The maid cleans the toilet over there every day. I don't have to do that. I've got plenty of open space for all of God's animals just like Michael Jackson's crib. It gets a little cold in the winter but we're smart we burn the trash in that can over there and guess what.....now we got central heating.

Nobody in their RIGHT mind wants to be out there. I hate to say that cause that opens the door for you to call them all mentally ill. If you do that's disgusting cause that's how you treat your mentally ill. You abandon them to the streets.

Come on Patty Cake, there is still good in you. I sense it.

I do want to add something to my previous post. This will suprise many. A homeless person can get free hospital treatment including operations ! it is shameful that Japan can't do more and remove the bureaucracy that prevents these people from obtaining cheap housing, work and monetary assistance.

patty cake championFeb. 25, 2012 - 08:40AM JST I've heard that many of these guys forgo rights to public housing and benefits to live a life of 'freedom'. It's hard to believe they would brave this country's winter and malevolent youths

You have heard wrong. Many homeless people are those that have lost their life savings for various reasons and can not get housing due to their past debts. Many are those that owned their own businesses in the past and have gone bankrupt. I can assure you that their life is not by choice but fueled by very harsh and unforgiving Japanese rules.They can't get a normal job without a guarantor or bona fide home address so have to rummage around for empty drink cans to make some money. Japan needs to give more help for their own people instead of giving billions overseas.

@pattycakechampion I'm hardly surprised. The restrictions placed on you if you're on benefits are very strict, I'm not surprised anybody would choose this kind of life over that one.

How nice people like us posters could have a nice comfortable room and sitting at our computers on a rainy day like today. When I thought about this I stopped complaining about those bitches at work .....

I've heard that many of these guys forgo rights to public housing and benefits to live a life of 'freedom'. It's hard to believe they would brave this country's winter and malevolent youths

I find these people are harmless compared to the homeless in other countries.

Just part of the throwaway aspect of J-life. One day....

Boj keeps printing trillions of Yen and yet.....

be healthy and be happy guys....