No Fixed Address · Episode 9 of 11 · 41 min
Japan's Hidden Homeless and the Problem With Counting
Japan reports almost no street homelessness, 2,591 people in January 2025, down roughly 90% since 2003. But the count captures only people visible outdoors, missing net-cafe refugees, aging day laborers and couch-surfers kept from welfare by shame and bureaucratic rules. Japan exposes a universal measurement problem, including how the U.S. count misses families, youth and the doubled-up.
Where it happens
- JapanReports 2,591 people sleeping outdoors in January 2025
- San'ya, Tokyo, JapanHistoric day-laborer lodging district
- Kotobuki-cho, Yokohama, JapanHistoric day-laborer lodging district
- Kamagasaki, Osaka, JapanHistoric day-laborer lodging district, also called Airin
Timeline
- 2003Japan's street count peaks at about 25,296 people
- 2007A first national study estimates roughly 5,400 net-cafe dwellers
- 2017A Tokyo survey estimates about 4,000 people a night homeless in internet cafes
- January 2025The street count hits a record low of 2,591
Still debated
The 100,000 to 300,000 net-cafe estimates are extrapolations, not censuses, and the high end is disputed. How badly the U.S. count undercounts, and how much of Japan's drop is real versus hidden, are open, since countries define homelessness differently.