Even if you can pay 150,000 a month, you can’t rent a house… The despair of the “invisible homeless” who can’t get out of the nekafes even with their income.

Blue sheets have disappeared from street corners. According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of people living on the streets has plummeted to “one-tenth” in the past 20 years. Looking at the numbers alone, one might be under the illusion that Japan’s poverty problem is improving. The reality, however, is not so easy. They have not been rescued; they have simply become “invisible” to society.

Today, the number of “invisible homeless” people, who are found in Internet cafes, late-night family restaurants, and at friends’ houses, has not decreased at all. What is surprising is that many of these people are paying 100,000 to 150,000 yen per month, which is more than the monthly rent, and yet they are trapped in an unreasonable loop of not being able to rent a “room of their own.

Why are they stuck in Internet cafes when they are earning that much money every month?　 This film takes a close look at the frontlines of “poverty hell,” which is not counted in government surveys and has no visibility.

Is the Internet essential? The Invisible Homeless

Mr. Ren Ohnishi, President of the Independent Living Support Center Moyai, a non-profit organization working on the issue of poverty in Japan, explains, “Even at the frontline level, we are still seeing a lot of homelessness in the urban sphere.

Even at the frontline level, the number of homeless people camping out near terminal stations and parks in urban areas is decreasing. However, there are still many “unstable residents” who sleep in Internet cafes and 24-hour family restaurants, or move from one friend’s house or shared house to another.

In 2004, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducted a survey on the number of people sleeping in Internet cafes and manga cafes without a place to live, and the estimated number was about 4,000 people (per day). Since there has been no large-scale survey since then, we do not know the exact number, but we wonder if there has been any significant change.

The situation is becoming more diverse, with people staying in Internet cafes when they have a day job to earn money, and returning to the streets when they run out of money, making it difficult to see the actual situation.

The ages of the “invisible homeless” range widely. According to a survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the most common age groups were those in their 30s and 50s.

The reason why many of the invisible homeless are young and middle-aged is probably because in this day and age, being able to use the Internet is a prerequisite for finding a job.

In the past, many homeless people would have earned their income by doing miscellaneous urban jobs such as collecting empty cans or cardboard boxes, but today, matching is almost always done online, even for day jobs such as civil engineering. You have to have a cell phone or sleep in an Internet cafe to get a job.

I think those without cell phones and without access to the Internet are limited to those who have a small pension or are ‘homeless’ who earn their income from miscellaneous urban jobs and stay out in the open, as in the old days.”

The Internet can be seen as a lifeline for the modern version of “homeless” to survive.

Even if you can pay “150,000 a month,” you can’t rent a house…

For example, how much does it cost to live in an Internet cafe in Tokyo for a month? It depends on how much time you spend in the café, but it is estimated to cost 100,000-150,000 yen, including the cost of showers.

One might think that if one has the income to pay this amount, which is more than the rent of a rental apartment, he or she should be able to rent a house.

However, Onishi says that finding an apartment for the “invisible homeless” is a difficult task.

In order to sign a rental contract, you need an employment contract, a tax return, and other documents to prove your status and income, as well as a guarantor. Of course, you also need to pay initial expenses such as a security deposit and key money.

From the standpoint of an apartment landlord, there is nothing but anxiety when someone without a certificate of residence or ID says, ‘I want to rent a room, and I earn 200,000 yen from a part-time job.

In addition to the fear of rent delinquency, many landlords are also afraid of some kind of trouble. The government has established a system to relieve the anxiety of landlords through the Housing Safety Net Law. However, the results have not been very successful. That is how difficult it is to secure housing for the needy in the private rental housing market.”

There is one way to find public housing, but applicants must prove residency for several years. It is impossible for someone who has been living in an Internet cafe for years to be able to prove residency.

Of course, there are government housing assistance programs for the needy, which have helped to reduce the number of “homeless” living on the streets. However, most of these programs are aimed at people without jobs and welfare recipients. Invisible homeless people are in between these systems, so it is difficult for support to reach them.

The Law to Support the Independence of the Needy, which came into effect in 2003, provides housing support services such as “support for securing housing” and “temporary living support projects. In the case of the “support for securing residence,” which provides rent expenses, there are payment requirements such as an income of less than 140,000 yen (in Tokyo) for a single person household and within two years of leaving employment.

The “Temporary Living Assistance Program,” which provides a place to stay and food and clothing, is a voluntary program and varies from municipality to municipality. In metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, “self-support centers” have been established to perform the functions of the “temporary living support program. Shelters” are provided as a temporary place of residence, where residents can obtain a certificate of residence and support in finding a job.

However, since this program is basically for those who want to work but cannot, it is not for those who have some income, even if it is irregular. Many people think, “If I have an income, I should be able to take care of it myself. It is difficult for public support to reach those who have a minimum income, even if it is unstable.

What is puzzling is that while the “invisible homeless” have difficulty renting apartments even though they have income, “welfare users” have an easier time renting apartments. The landlords may feel more secure in the knowledge that the welfare recipients will be taken care of by the authorities in case of any problems. Compared to pensioners, welfare users have an advantage,” says Onishi.

In fact, a quick search on the Internet reveals many “rental housing for welfare recipients.

The income requirement to apply for welfare is 100,000-130,000 yen per month. Most people who are able to live in Internet cafes probably earn more than this amount.

Even if they work hard, they cannot save money, and they cannot rent a house because of their unstable jobs. But because they are just barely making ends meet, they are unable to receive public assistance.

It is not hard to imagine that people will be stuck in the hell of poverty for decades to come.

The Limitless “Self-Responsibility Theory” and the Invisible Poor

How can this vicious cycle be broken?

For example, if a person becomes unable to work due to illness or mental breakdown, he or she will not be able to maintain his or her current precarious living conditions. If that happens, they will have no choice but to use public assistance, which will lead to public support. In reality, there are many such cases.

Some people make the decision to quit their jobs once in order to receive support under the current system. If you become a welfare user, you can receive job training while receiving support from Hello Work and the government office, and you can also get an ID card, a bank account, and rent an apartment. It may take six months to a year, but they can accumulate the necessary qualifications and other skills to get a full-time job.

In the long run, I think it is much better for society because homeless people can get back into a position to pay taxes.

About half of those on welfare are still elderly people over the age of 65. The decision to become a welfare recipient is not an easy one for a generation that is still able to work. They must be proud that they are still able to work.

Moreover, the welfare system is funded by taxes paid by the public. There is also social opposition and prejudice.

In recent years, the welfare system has become less and less acceptable to society. In a society where there is pressure to work if one can work, many parties feel strong resistance to the idea of quitting their jobs to receive assistance.

My personal impression is that there are not a few young people who can still use the available systems to rebuild their lives, but it is difficult for middle-aged people who know the boom times to make the same decision.

I also think that even younger people who are clumsy and not good at getting around in the world have a strong sense of avoidance toward welfare. Moreover, nowadays there are plenty of places to work if you want a part-time job. This raises their awareness of self-help even more, and they end up working hard with only their physical and mental strength. Even so, they cannot afford to buy a house and their lives do not improve. As a result, I think that today’s society is preventing them from truly becoming self-reliant.

The difficulties in living are not limited to the “homeless. Many people have homes but are forced to live on the edge due to unstable jobs such as irregular work or freelance work, rising rents, and high prices.

As one of its support activities, the Center for Independent Living Support, Moyai, of which Mr. Onishi serves as director, distributes food and holds counseling sessions in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office every Saturday, and the number of users has increased rapidly over the past several years. Many people who own their own houses or apartments visit the center. At first glance, many people do not appear to be in need, and poverty itself is becoming harder to see.

Like the homeless people who have houses but cannot see them, there seems to be an increasing number of people whose income is slightly above the requirements for receiving public assistance but whose lives are difficult.

I think that policies such as the development of public housing and the renting out of vacant houses by local governments are necessary to support the housing of homeless people, and not only those who do not have a home, It will be widely needed not only for those who do not have houses, but also for young people and those raising children who cannot afford this kind of lifestyle.

If we give more support to certain areas or to certain groups, it will lead to a kind of confrontation, division, and social bashing. But that does not mean that the cost will be high if the target is expanded. I would like to see a discussion at the political level on how to shoulder this burden.

As is the case with the welfare system and the universal health insurance system, there are projects and systems that only the national and local governments can implement, and lives are being saved by them. It is a wonderful thing, but I feel the need to develop these systems to fit the times so that more people can be saved.

Mr. Ohnishi hopes that many people will imagine the future of Japan, where the “invisible homeless” and “invisible poor” are left behind.

According to the preliminary report of the Vital Statistics released by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare at the end of February, the number of births in 2013 was 705,809, the lowest number ever recorded. The problem of Japan’s declining population is only getting worse.

It is unbelievably low. Tokyo has about 90,000 births (up 1.3% from the previous year to 88,518), so in extreme cases, there will be only about 70 first-grade students per school in five years. The population should continue to decline at an even faster rate in the future.

For example, there are many temporary workers who do the same work as regular employees but have little social credibility and do not earn higher wages. If they had the same employment status as full-time employees, they would have the option to have a family. This would be a plus for society as a whole.

The social tendency for companies to use up talented people cheaply and to dismiss poverty as “self-responsibility” will cause Japan to shrink in the long run. As Japan’s population continues to decline, we, as a society, should carefully consider these issues and tackle the problem of poverty.

Ren Ohnishi, social activist and president of the certified NPO “Independent Living Support Center-Moyai,” was born in Tokyo in 1987. Involved in supporting the homeless and needy in Shinjuku since 2010, and participated in the activities of 《Moyai》.” He has been in his current position since 2002.” Since 2009, he has also served as a policy advisor to the Cabinet Secretariat (later the Cabinet Office) on measures to combat loneliness and isolation. In addition to providing on-site counseling and support, she also provides a voice from the field on social security and poverty issues, and makes policy proposals.