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Questions and Answers on Homelessness and Homeless Communities in Thematic Session of ASA View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Utsunomiya University Academic Information Repository 宇都宮大学国際学部研究論集 200, 第29号, − Questions and Answers on Homelessness and Homeless Communities in Thematic Session of ASA TAMAKI Matsuo Introduction homeless in Brazil, France, and Japan, and vice Annual Meeting 2009 of American Sociological versa? Association(ASA) was held in San Francisco on August 11 this year. I participated in Thematic In Japan, the English word “homeless” was Session “ Homelessness and Homeless Communities” transliterated into Japanese as homuresu and came as a panelist. This session was coordinated by David to be used in the media and other channels from the Snow and five panelists from US, France, Brazil 1990s, solely in reference to people who live on the and Japan participated in this session. In prior to the streets. At the end of that decade, the government session, David Snow prepared 10 original questions first defined homuresu officially as “people who sleep for panel discussions as the panel moderator and outside on the streets, in parks, on riverbanks, in station facilitator. Then, original 10 questions were expanded buildings or elsewhere” Surveys to estimate the size of or revised in response to panelist’s suggestions. the homeless population by national government and Finally, 15 questions were prepared, In the session, local authorities were conducted targeting only those David Snow asked questions and panelists exchanged who lived on the streets. Homeless people defined in answers and opinions. Several questions were not this way as people who live on the streets are only picked up because of a limited time in the session. one section of the homeless population, which also This paper reports 15 questions and my own answers. includes those who “have no permanent dwelling Participants in this section have been members and live in a place that cannot be considered fit for of a research group on “ Homelessness and Social a human being”. In this sense, it is highly relevant Exclusion in Four Global Cities: Los Angels, Paris, that the government’s main concerns were about the Sao Paulo and Tokyo” initiated by David Snow. This increase and greater visibility of homeless people group is planning to publish a book on homelessness living on the streets who were seen to be “occupying in global cities next year. The book will reflect public space” and “polluting the environment”. For discussions in this session. the government and local authorities, the homeless problem was not about the poverty and wide-ranging Questions and Answers for Thematic Panel problems facing those without stable living conditions. Discussion on Homelessness In 1990s, homelessness was viewed as a new social problem of urban centers and a concern relating solely 1. We have 4 different countries represented to occupation of public spaces and pollution of the here, so why don’t we begin by considering local environment. The responses of government were how homelessness is defined in each of the motivated, on the whole, by ‘social exclusion’. countries. What are the prevailing definitions In Japan, the street homeless increased, especially and encompassing criteria that are used to in big cities in 1990s, and continued to grow until categorize someone as homeless? Would being 2003. Since then, numbers of the street homeless counted homeless in the U.S. qualify one as have decreased. Up until approximately 2006, 2 TAMAKI Matsuo the overwhelming majority of the homeless were Japanese word that literally means “people who sleep men over fifty. It was very rare for young people, outside” and therefore directly refers to those who women and families to be homeless, and this was live on the streets. Yet thinking about it now, there a particular feature of the Japanese situation that were two related problems with my use of the terms differed significantly from that of other countries. interchangeably. The first was that despite using the Simply speaking, the overwhelming majority of the term “homeless”, I ended up looking at the issue homeless were day laborers, and construction workers from a similar perspective to the government – that in 1990s. The circumstances directly contributing is, mainly the problems of the nojukusha who live on to homelessness in Japan were mainly work-related, the streets. The second was that I tried to separate out such as separation from the workforce for a variety of the “visible homeless” (nojukusha) from the broader reasons including unemployment, sickness, injury, or section of the community who live in poverty as the age of day laborers in construction industries. “invisible homeless”. As a result, I was unable to give Now, the overall situation of homelessness is comprehensive treatment to the common problems becoming more complicated. People who have worked that apply to both groups relating to social systems and at different kind of jobs are becoming homeless. policies of exclusion. In light of the above, we now The homeless issue is connected with many different need to redefine the concept of homelessness in Japan issues, not only labor problem, but also debt, alcohol more broadly, and carry out research that investigates addiction, mental illness and deteriorating family the problems of the “visible” and “invisible” homeless relationship. in an integrated way. 2. No doubt debates occur as to who should and 3. The world has been gripped by an economic should not be counted as homeless. What is the crisis over the past year and a half. During this character of the debates, who are the advocates period, there have been rising unemployment for different definitions (e.g., government rates, increased business closures, increased officials and policy makers, homeless service indebtedness and bankruptcies, and a decrease providers and advocates, or social scientists), in the number of folks who can access the and which definitions tend to prevail? housing market. Together or individually, these apparent trends should increase the In the US and UK, the concept of “homeless” prospect of homelessness? Has this happened? broadly refers to people who do not have a stable Has there been an increase in the number of dwelling, and therefore includes not only the “visible” homeless in your respective cities and/or the homeless who live on the streets, but also the enveloping nations? And, if so, what has been “invisible” homeless. Surveys also use this definition the magnitude of that increase? Or perhaps to estimate homeless numbers. these questions can’t be answered because there Japanese social scientists researching the homeless is no ongoing social scientific or governmental (myself included) have regarded this narrow Japanese monitoring of the incidence of homelessness in definition of “homeless” limited to those who live your respective cities or countries. Is that the on the streets as problematic, but have still tended to case, and if so, why? But even so, is there any apply the term in a rather vague fashion. Speaking for kind of anecdotal evidence that you might point myself, in my book about homelessness in Nagoya I to that suggests an increase in homelessness stated that “to refer to people who live on the streets, during these turbulent economic times? And if I will basically use the two terms homuresu and not, why do you think that is the case? nojukusha as the context requires”. Nojukusha is a Questons and Answers on Homelessness and Homeless Communtes n Thematc Sesson of ASA 3 In Japan, the worsening employment situation until recently in which large numbers of the homeless stemming from the global financial meltdown that had previously been day labor construction workers, it originated in the US has particularly affected the is evident that more and more temp workers who had manufacturing sector (such as the automobile and worked mostly in manufacturing are now becoming electronics industries), and huge numbers of temporary homeless as a result of the recession which began last workers have had their contracts terminated early. year. Of the 354, only ten were women, and the low Currently, the general pattern in the relationship proportion of women seen among the homeless has between worsening employment and homelessness can therefore not changed. By age-group, 5.9% were in be discussed and predicted based on the following two their twenties, 24.5% were in their thirties, 29.0% were trends and data. in their forties, and 35.5% were fifty or over, so this is The first data is a nationwide survey of a younger group than the ‘street’ homeless of previous homelessness. According to nationwide survey of surveys. homelessness (homeless person who are sleeping rough) by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 4. If there has been an increase in the number the homeless population was 25,296 at its peak in of homeless, can you specify the trends or 2003. A survey (January 2008) showed a total number conditions that best explain this increase? And of 16,018.Homeless number decreased by over if there has not been an increase in the incidence 9,000(36.6%) from 2003 to 2008. The most recent of homelessness, how do you account for the survey (January 2009) shows a total number of 15,759. stability of the homeless rate in light of the At present, there is no data to suggest that the numbers seemingly propitious conditions noted earlier? of homeless people on the streets have been increasing drastically. But the most recent survey shows only As I said earlier, at present, there is no data to a marginal decrease and in some regions numbers suggest that the numbers of homeless people on the have started to increase. One of the regions is Aichi streets have been increasing dramatically. We need prefecture where Toyota’s main business is located.
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