Homeless Eviction Sparks Mayhem at Shinjuku West Exit: Kerosene and Fire Extinguishers Used

What did FRIDAY report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? The magazine revisits topics that were once in the spotlight in its series “Playback Friday.” This time, we look back at the February 9, 1996 issue, which featured: “Fireworks, fire extinguishers, and soy sauce bombs fight back—Shinjuku ablaze! Police forcibly remove sitting homeless in the dead of night.”

The collapse of the bubble economy in 1991 cost many workers their jobs and led to an increase in homelessness. In the underground passage stretching from Shinjuku Station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, cardboard houses built by homeless people began to line the walkway, with reportedly over a hundred people living in this cardboard village. Starting in 1994, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began forcibly clearing the area, with homes repeatedly removed and rebuilt.

Around the end of 1995, the government demanded that the residents vacate the underground passage, citing plans to build a moving walkway. Homeless people and their supporters resisted, and numerous skirmishes occurred. Finally, on January 24, 1996, the government forcibly carried out the eviction (quoted passages are from the original article, with ages noted at the time).

It was a scene reminiscent of the university protests of the 1960s.

“In the bitterly cold early morning of January 24, in the Shinjuku West Exit underground passage, homeless people and their supporters clashed dramatically with Tokyo Metropolitan Government staff and police officers.

The government had moved to forcibly remove the now-famous ‘cardboard houses’ in one sweep. In response, the homeless built ‘barricades’ out of plywood. When staff approached, they threw eggs, raw garbage, fireworks, and even salad oil and soy sauce indiscriminately. As the removal began in earnest, kerosene was poured, fire extinguishers were sprayed, and smoke filled the area, plunging the scene into chaos.”

The government deployed over 500 staff and security guards, along with 250 police officers, showing their seriousness. Some homeless people chained themselves to pillars in resistance, but overwhelmed by sheer numbers, they were taken away one by one. By 8:30 a.m., all had been removed.

However, the homeless were not entirely united.

“It was truly a ‘Shinjuku Ablaze!’ scenario, yet during the chaos, many sat drinking shōchū or simply watched. When evicted, some complied quietly. On the other hand, those who resisted fiercely—throwing objects until the end and having their hands and feet lifted during removal, or being arrested for obstructing official duties—tended to be younger, well-groomed individuals.”

While supporters loudly protested, saying, “This method only uses formal law as a pretext for violence,” some homeless quietly disappeared, claiming, “This doesn’t concern me,” or went to register for temporary shelters provided by the government nearby.

The temporary shelters were only available for two months. It seemed unlikely that this forced eviction would solve the broader problem of homelessness.

While the homeless and their supporters fiercely resisted the forced removal of the cardboard village in the underground passage, they also occupied a space that would later become the Shinjuku Station West Exit underground plaza event area, preventing fences from being erected. Some of the homeless evicted from the underground passage moved to this emergency shelter, where several dozen people lived under tarpaulin-covered areas, with daily meal distributions taking place.

After about two weeks, people began rebuilding cardboard houses, which eventually spread across the entire West Exit underground plaza. At its peak, the new cardboard village reportedly housed around 300 people, surpassing the original settlement.

As the village was reestablished, photographers, artists, and journalists visited and interacted with the residents. By the end of 1997, volunteers organized a New Year’s Eve concert, said to be the largest-scale event in Shinjuku West Exit since the “Folk Guerrilla” of the 1960s.

However, life in the cardboard village, constantly under threat of forced eviction, came to an abrupt and tragic end. In the early hours of February 7, 1998, a fire destroyed more than 50 cardboard houses, killing four residents. The village was disbanded, and most residents moved into government facilities.

Homelessness in Tokyo’s 23 wards continued to rise, with cardboard houses and tents set up in parks across the city. At its peak in 1999, the homeless population reached 5,798. When the Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched the “Homeless Regional Life Transition Support Program” in 2004—securing housing in parks and supporting employment—the numbers steadily declined. By 2024, the count had dropped to 342. However, this figure does not include people living in internet cafés or temporary lodgings.