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In the country that is known as an economic miracle and in the city that is known for some of the most expensive restaurants in the world, there are still those who must dig through a garbage can for their next meal. Some estimates put the number of homeless in Japan at twenty to thirty thousand. Still a fraction compared to many other countries, the numbers will only continue to grow during this period of recession accompanied by changing business practices
More and more people are hitting the streets as companies lay off workers, and there have recently been some high-profile incidents bringing attention to the situation. A man barged into his employer's office to discuss a series of demotions and forced early retirements, and he ended up stabbing himself to death in protest. Meters away from the man in this photograph is another indicator of the economy of Japan. People on street corners pass out packs of tissue to passersby, advertising everything from adult video stores to English conversation schools. The hawkers today were putting into people's hands advertisements for credit, a previously rare practice in Japan. The homeless may in fact be doing a service for the people of Japan. Even in this time of environmental awareness, especially in regards to environmental hormones, most trash in Japan is disposed of by incineration. Many people still burn their trash individually in their backyards, though this is slowly becoming illegal. As more people become homeless, there will certainly be more people willing to eat the leftovers that would otherwise be burned.
Copyright © 1999 by Ed Kaspar |