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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Koizumi government 'reform' policy drives more young people into homelessness

A symposium on the problem of increasing numbers of homeless, held in Tokyo on October 2, revealed that an increasing number of young people are homeless due to hardships caused by the government policies promoted in the name of "structural reform."

In the report to the symposium, Inaba Takeshi, executive director of "Moyai (moorings)," a non-profit organization assisting with homeless people's self-support, said that many people in their 20s and 30s are among the homeless lining up at soup kitchens. He said, "Many young people living at 24-hour coffee shops with comic books or at sauna bath centers come to us seeking advice and assistance in solving their problems" and emphasized that job creation for the young is the best way to prevent young people from becoming homeless.

Attorney Utsunomiya Kenji spoke about homelessness, poverty, and public support providing a safety net from a legal point of view. He pointed out that the 'Koizumi reform' policies have forced many debtors to borrow money to repay debts, resulting in an increasing number of suicides, homelessness, and crimes.

The lawyers estimated the number of "moonlight flitters" with multiple debts at more than 100,000. "They are facing one adversity after another as they cannot appropriately apply for resident registration, making it difficult to get regular jobs or attain health insurance. They have no choice but to become homeless."

In 2001, the first year of the Koizumi Cabinet, the number of personal bankruptcies filed was 139,280, and this increased to 242,357 in 2003. The number of suicides was over 30,000 a year for the last seven years straight. In 2003, 8,897 people committed suicide after enduring financial difficulties.

As part of relief measures, Utsunomiya proposed that the upper limit of interest rates at 29.2 percent in the Capital Subscription Law be lowered, that the upper limit under the Interest Restriction Law be curtailed, that the system of granting low-interest rate loans and that social services be improved.

He pointed out the threshold for public assistance for the needy is too high and that loan sharks are the only help available to people in financial distress. -- Akahata, October 3, 2005