What is the Secret Behind Japan's 0% Homelessness Rate | Digest The World

in the many ways that Japan stands out there is one particular statistic that completely sets it apart from any other country in the world despite being one of the most populous nations it is the only country in the world that has a homeless population rate of almost 0% while the United States is experiencing a major homelessness crisis with the number of people living on the street Rising every year Japan seems to have found the solution to a societal issue that was thought to not really have one however if you look past the headlines the situation starts to look very different the reality behind this seemingly amazing success reveals a disturbing and dark reality about life in Japanese society and what is really going on under the surface so how did Japan manage to have a 0% homelessness rate and why is it actually not good news for the country this is The Dark Secret of how Japan solved homelessness according to official statistics Japan a country with over 100 25 million residents has around 3,000 homeless people about 0.003% of its population this is significantly lower than other countries with low homelessness rates like Switzerland and Miles Ahead of countries like the us but why exactly well there are several reasons that are often mentioned as the cause of this extremely low rate first being homeless is actually very difficult in Japan and in Japanese culture it is incredibly stigmatized according to a founder of a nonprofit organization supporting the homeless in Japan there is no culture of compassion for homeless people in the country they are usually seen as individuals who only have themselves to blame for their situation and who deserve no help at all this stigma is even stronger because the majority of homeless individuals in Japan are men who are traditionally expected to be self-reliant their failure to do so is seen as an embarrassing assessment both by the public and by themselves as a result authorities tend to make it harder to be homeless than in most countries any kind of begging in public is banned by law and homeless people are pushed out of sight cities like Tokyo are known for implementing what's been called anti-homeless or hostile architecture such as locked parks at night or uncomfortable benches designed to discourage homeless people from staying in the area some of Japan's unique policies while not designed to reduce homelessness help to do so anyway Japan has very strict laws on drugs other than alcohol and severe punishment resulting in only 1.6% of the Japanese population trying drugs other than alcohol in their lifetime compared to 46% of Americans this means that drug addiction in Japan is barely an issue additionally Japan has a robust Health Care System significant because 30 to 35% of people who experience homelessness in the United States have a mental illness in Japan people with severe mental illnesses tend to be placed in mental health institutions whereas in the United States they often end up on the streets finally Japan has relatively accessible housing because it builds more houses than any other developed Democratic country unlike most Western countries where building housing became increasingly difficult due to various regulations Japan took the opposite route with very few restrictions making it easy to build and relatively affordable so on the surface Japan can be seen as an example of a country that has solved a major social issue however that's not entirely true despite the official numbers the reality is much more grim and there are many more people without a home in Japan hidden away from site and government statistics in the 1990s Japan experienced a severe economic crisis when the stock and real estate markets collapsed in the following years it became extremely difficult to secure a steady regular job with decent pay as a result millions of people were left to survive on low paying temporary part-time jobs becoming known as Japan's Lost Generation many of them never managed to recover and they became excluded from society with no status no place in society and no future consequently many of them were unable to hold down an apartment and pay rent every month even in a relatively affordable Japan however they would do anything to avoid living on the streets to avoid the shame and stigma from society the phenomenon of cyber homelessness imer merged individuals using 24-hour internet and manga cafes as temporary shelters these net cafe refugees pay by the hour and can stay as long as they want sleeping in computer cubicles over time these cafes expanded their services to offer food drinks fresh underwear or showers while this phenomenon helps people avoid falling to the very bottom of society and allows them to maintain some level of dignity it also demonstrates the incredible problems that Japanese Society has as a whole the government statistic statistics of homeless people in Japan are considered wildly underestimated non-government organizations estimate that the real numbers of people living on the streets in Japan are at least three times higher than the government reports in 2020 it was estimated that at least 15,000 people lived in cyber cafes in Tokyo alone five times as many as the official number of homeless people in the entire Japan while this phenomenon of cyber homelessness can be seen as positive for helping people avoid the very bottom of society and maintaining dignity it also highlights the problems within Japanese Society a third of the entire Japanese Workforce over 22 million people are part-time or temp workers not by choice but because they can't get a regular full-time job while not all of them are homeless most are only paid a minimum wage struggling to afford normal rent with no prospects of their economic situation getting much better even though Japan's official homelessness rate is much lower than in the US the percentage of people living in poverty is actually higher in Japan than in the states while only a few end up on the street many more end up on The Fringe of society stuck living in cyber cafes and capsule hotels in a never ending cycle of not being able to get a proper job to get an apartment and not being able to get an apartment to get a proper job because of societal pressure they prefer to remain invisible and Society prefers it as well a problem that stays out of sight is a problem that can be easily ignored and the government can continue to claim a 0% homelessness rate but underneath it is a symbol of all the things that went wrong with the Japanese economy and a problem that's here to stay as the number of invisible homeless is only about to grow

Channel: Digest The World

Views: 9,245

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Id: CmrwoRbONuM

Length: 6min 45sec (405 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 07 2023