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The re-urbanization of the Land of the Rising Sun after World War II left the Japanese little room for anything else. The sweat of the working class was often spent entirely in the tasks at hand, and for little more than enough pay to survive and getting drunk on the weekends with the boss- yet some had children regardless. Combined with their exploitation, the lack of social support, the unsteady employment, the economic hardships, all of these had led to the destruction of marital relationships, to single parenthood, to mental issues, to social isolation- and to many hidden cases of parental abuse. Given what they had to invest to raise them, expectations on children were high; those who didn’t meet them often fled or were kicked out of the house.
Thirty or so years later, the asset price bubble burst.
By the beginning of the Lost Decade, it was estimated that over 25000 people were sleeping on the streets nationwide- a number that even then was impressive considering Tokyo’s population of 32 million at the time. Nowadays, Japan is known for its 0% homeless ratio- the actual number dwelling under 4000- which led to the social stigma that being homeless is a choice. In Japan, it is considered that they are responsible for their situation, that they’ve chosen to lead irresponsible lives, that they bring shame to both themselves and the public- but this statistic doesn’t account for those cases where the homeless themselves don’t want to be contacted by their families. A registered address is a core requirement for both being able to rent and getting a job, and for those who lack one of their own the only choice is to sleep on the streets- or to pay a night in a net cafe. The rampant amount of people who went to net cafes just to stay and sleep has gotten them to adapt and now these establishments often offer both showers and free drinks, along other commodities for people to live in them. These drifters, these ‘hidden homeless’, aren’t offered much more than scorn in a society where people often die to overwork.
Around a third of Japan's 25000 homeless are based in Osaka.
