Tokyo's greatest shame.

Sadly this situation exists across all major centres in Canada, even in small towns.  Politicians seem to be impotent when it comes to dealing with it.

As is the case in Tokyo, most of the aid is provided by charities here.  In Edmonton they even open up the Light Rail Stations to get the homeless out of the cold in winter.  I.m not sure what the statistics are, but there are number of weather related deaths here each year.

Definitely shameful.

I am old enough to remember when in the U.S. one would almost never see a homeless person in California.  Your report on Tokyo is sadly the same almost everywhere now.  The situation here has been growing for over 30 years.

A citizens solution on how to solve the problem in Alberta:

"According to a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that between 2.3 and 3.5 million people (in America) experience homelessness annually."

Considering that the USA is one of the richest on earth, this is a travesty and undermines the notion of a Democratic society, dedicated to caring for its people.

The seeds of revolution are upon us in the USA if government does not right the economy and care for its citizens.

Rising unemployment will always result in more homeless, no matter what country you are in. Our world runs on a system where the top 1% sets the agenda for us all, and the rest are left to fight over the scraps. The homeless are just like you and I, minus a few lucky breaks, or a preexisting economic advantage.

One can see it is epidemic all over the world with no easy answers.

One only has to witness seniors home with seniors though cared for in most cases could be cared for by their children. Since the elderly raised and cared for the now adult children in their infancy to adulthood one would think one turn deserves another with the adult children caring for their elderly parents in their twilight years.

Cases where some elderly need round the clock care is an exception, but many of the homeless, especially the elderly could be better served in senior homes if they do not have adult children to care for them or suffer mental illness.

For the remainder of the homeless who are fit and able should be given job training, if they refuse, then hell with them, If they are addicts, and refuse treatment, then they are on their own. 

Many who frequent soup kitchens I have seen in DTES are youth, most I witness are layabouts looking for a handout.

Most of the homeless you see in DTES are white or first nations,with rarely an immigrant amongst them.

East Indian and Asians for the most part care for their parents and keep them at home.  I am somewhat shocked that japan do not in certain cases such as this. 

It seems our Canadian society of ME, ME generation brought on by  the previous Liberal Trudeaumania generation where everyone wins a trophy for showing up society has turned our culture into mindless selfish morons for the most part who have little work ethic and family values today fostered by a previous generation. Can you say Canada has the same work ethic and family values today it had in the 1950s to the early 1970s? I think not! We had law and order back then,can you say we have it today? NO! We have elementary teacher activists preaching their liberal dogma to children. Children whose minds soak up everything. Certainly they do not need to know a Teachers rants about their union problems or Vancouver Olympic fiascos and taxpayer dissatisfaction.  Kids are there to learn the three Rs, not a teachers personal activism.  Life is tough enough for kids what they are exposed to in life and the media. This just results in confused children with no direction or conflicting direction from teachers versus parents. Kids grow up to be adults, adults who are supposed to be good productive citizens, not internet mtv rapping idiots.

Social activism may have its place, but when you have social activist whining about the worlds problems instead of first focusing on their own situation we are in trouble. Many activists I have met are usually your doc marten wearing, face full of fishing tackle and tattoo spattered morons wondering how come no one will hire them! MMMMMMM back to trudeamania where personal choice and don't pen me into your button down existance of conformity seems to rule the day!  Problem is most in the corporate world dont do groovy, or wear fishing tackle stuck to their face.  Hence the quandary, conform or dont complain that no one will hire you resulting in your homelessness!

Look to you elected politicians for answers, and you will be met by a mute silence. My answer is pull up your bootstraps, raise your next generation of kids to have a work ethic and family values and maybe, just maybe the next generation of kids may not be homeless, and maybe they will care for you when you are old and gray.

I think it's seriously wrong when there are any homeless people but especially in a rich country like Japan. And especially, when you just look around and see so many empty buildings which could be converted for homeless people.There isn't enough low rented accommodation available in cities like Tokyo which could be provided by setting up a mixture of housing associations and co-operatives.In the UK I lived and worked with housing co-operatives and the results produce housing at a higher standard than what could be provided by local government.I think in Japan there are currently about 50,000 homeless people who are nearly all males. Whenever, there's a night of heavy rain I always think of the suffering of the homeless.One of the problems in Japan, there is no law for the compulsory purchase of empty properties so the owners can keep them empty. Even in a small city like Kobe City with only about 1 million citizens, I see so many empty properties.At least with the new Hatoyama government, there may be some changes on the horizon.The government appointed antipoverty campaigner Makoto Yuasa, known for setting up a tent village for laid-off nonregular workers in central Tokyo, as an adviser at the Cabinet Office. Yuasa serves as secretary general of the Anti-Poverty Network, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization.I very much admire the work achieved by Makoto Yuasa for the homeless and those suffering from poverty, even when they have some kind of employment.The minimum wage in Japan is only about ¥750 ( about $7) when in countries like the UK, it's about ¥1,000 (about $10). This isn't enough to live on in a city like Tokyo.

Homelessness in California began in the 1970s with the closing of many mental hospitals.  Then the county jails became the de facto home for the mentally ill.  Now we have a burgeoning population of homeless mentally ill together with those who have lost their jobs and homes because of the economy. 

I have come to the conclusion that unless there is a change in how people view poverty and the mentally ill, the situation will continue.  The notion of "boot strap" ideals does not apply any more.  There was a time when if you worked and became a productive member of society, the rewards of Capitalism would automatically be there, but this is no longer the case.  We have seen the fragility of our system, and its pretty scarry.  The gap between the haves and have nots must be narrowed, and if socialistic approaches are whats needed to serve the greater good, then this is the direction we must go. 

Big business will fight this for the obvious Capitalistic reasons; and if we are to draw a line in the sand against them, health care reform is going to be where it starts.  I only hope this administration and congress have the nerve to do what needs to be done.   

Until recently, most Japanese considered homelessness to be the fault of the victim, blaming them for have a drink problem, or just being too lazy to work. Most of us know these kinds of thoughts are also expressed in other countries too. In the last couple years here in Japan there seems to be a shift in thinking because within the ranks of the homeless are people who actually work but can't afford to rent a place. Moving into a place can be very expensive, like $5,000 to $10,000 just to move in and pay the first month rent. You have to pay "gift money" to the landlord, 1-3 months rent. Deposit, 1-3 months rent. Fee to housing company 1-2 months rent. Then you have to have a guarantor who will sign a contract stating they will pay the rent if it's not paid. The housing contract is for 2 years and at its renewal you are expected to give the landlord 1-2 months further gift money. This is all illegal but it don't stop it from happening. For someone with a low paid job all this makes the life very difficult