Homelessness in Japan

Today's update will be short. I'll simply recommend that you read this article about homeless Japanese living in capsule hotels.

One concept that Japanologists and Japanese themselves are constantly confronted with is the idea that Japan is largely a classless society in which nearly everyone belongs to the middle class. In fact, this was never as true as it was often portrayed to be, and since the 1980s it is an idealized view that is increasingly detached from reality.

Anecdotally, I know from my own experience that, contrary to common views of poverty being very rare in Japan, Osaka had at least one quite large permanent homeless community. I remember walking through a tunnel and an adjoining park that were filled with miniature homes made of cardboard and tarp. I say "permanent" because these homes had obviously stood for some time; they were remarkably well furnished (with chairs, small sofas, cooking equipment, radios) and were often heated by gas and lit by car battery.

If you're interested in this topic and don't mind reading something a bit academic, take a look at this study. I'm putting this here as a reminder to myself as much as a recommendation, as I've only read the first couple of pages, but it looks like a decent overview of structural economic inequality in Japanese society.