A 21-year-old man on welfare who “doesn’t know the faces of his parents” talks about his life so far， including life in a children’s home and on the streets．
“Invisible poverty” among young people is spreading. Not only are there cases of people using traditional internet cafes as their base, but the increase in “marginal shared houses” has made it possible for people to continue living from day to day without having to live on the streets. Due to a labor shortage, the job market is said to be an unprecedented seller’s market, and while there is a high demand for young talent, many young people are unable to escape poverty. And many of them are unable to break the negative cycle that spans generations due to “parent gacha”… We conduct in-depth interviews with young people living in such harsh conditions. Putting the spotlight on “forgotten young people.” ◆ Receiving welfare at age 21 Mori Shota (pseudonym, 21 years old) [Current situation] Receiving welfare [Main source of income] Only welfare payments [Current monthly income] Approximately 130,000 yen Mori Shota (pseudonym, 21 years old), who lives in an 8-tatami one-room apartment in the Tokyo metropolitan area, is receiving welfare payments of 130,000 yen at a young age. “To be honest, living on welfare is easy. The rent here is 52,000 yen, so I live on just under 80,000 yen a month. I haven’t worked for about a year now.” Mori has a complicated upbringing. He grew up in an orphanage so he doesn’t know his parents. “I actually wanted to go to college. But you have to leave the facility at 18. It was practically impossible to cover all the living expenses and tuition fees, so I gave up,” he said, lowering his gaze. After leaving the facility, he enrolled in a vocational training school but dropped out after six months. After that, he worked part-time at restaurants and assembling furniture. “Two years ago, when I was working the hardest, there were times when I worked 31 days in a row and earned 360,000 yen a month. I didn’t know people could fall this low…” ◆ Stress led to him becoming addicted to supporting idols… I got into supporting idols as a way to relieve stress. He became so absorbed in it that he fell behind on not only his rent but also his utility bills, and moved out of his apartment without permission a year ago. After being forced to live on the streets for six months, he ended up on welfare. “At first I was receiving benefits in a different area, but the company that helped me with my application seemed to be running a poverty-stricken business, and after the service fees were deducted I was left with only 10,000 to 20,000 yen a month. Naturally, I was unhappy at first, but once I got used to surfing the internet all day and having three meals a day, I started to not care anymore… I started to feel scared, so I started looking for rental properties that I could sign a contract with directly.” But I still had trouble managing money. By the end of the month, they have no welfare payments left and are forced to borrow money from friends and pay it back the following month, so they are in a vicious cycle. “I have a habit of jumping ship, so when I’m stuck with work and bills, I think, ’This is bothersome’ and ’I want to run away.’ Welfare assistance gives you the feeling that you can survive without working, so in my case it backfires. Once you get comfortable, it’s hard to get out of it. I’d like to find employment within a year, of course…” Poverty support is not a panacea. ◆Today, all Japanese people are becoming isolated. “Today, I think all Japanese people are becoming isolated,” says Takanori Fujita, director of Hotto Plus, an NPO that provides support for the poor and homeless. “With the trend towards nuclear families with both parents working, there are fewer opportunities for children to learn how to interact with others at home. As a result, an increasing number of young people do not know how to rely on others, and if they cannot rely on their parents, they have no choice but to run away from home. Also, it’s true that the spread of social media has made it easier to interact with people, but the nature of social media means that you can choose who you interact with, so you inevitably become closed off.” Fujita continues, saying that the behavior that followed was also modern. “Looking at the breakdown of people who come for consultation, about 10% are young people living on the streets. The remaining 90% are invisible homeless people who have somewhere to stay, such as an internet cafe or a friend’s house.”
◆The reality of young people living on the streets
Reporter Kunitomo Koji, author of “Reportage: Life on the Streets,” which describes his own life on the streets, also says, “The number of young people with low incomes is increasing, but only a few are living 100% on the streets.” “The spread of shared houses has made it possible for young people to find cheap housing, and many of them have been able to avoid living on the streets. Even if they end up living on the streets, initial costs are kept low, and in some cases shared houses even include utility costs, making it easier for them to get their lives back on track. On the other hand, when I talked to young people living on the streets, I got the impression that many of them have extremely low social skills. What they all have in common is the mindset of just getting by from day to day. “We live in an age where people can get by as long as they have a place to sleep, and they can make ends meet with part-time jobs and soup kitchens, so I think this is also a factor behind the increase in invisible homelessness.” Will the number of young homeless people continue to increase?
>>1 This article makes it unclear why he is receiving social security. If there are no health issues, wouldn’t it be better to set a time limit or make work camps mandatory?
>>1 >I actually wanted to go to college. But you have to leave the facility at 18. This is the first thing to do. If he’s good enough to get into a national or public university, he’ll be exempt from the entrance fee and tuition fees and can get in on a scholarship. You should at least make the arrangements to get there.
They shouldn’t be given out unless you’ve lost your home in a disaster and can’t work because of a disabling illness. People who use mental health reasons as excuses continue to receive benefits without becoming independent.
If you’re just staying at a friend’s house and not getting a housing allowance, then welfare isn’t that great; the two famous Yoshimoto executives also suffered a huge loss in income due to fraud.
They have no choice but to force them to work. Freedom of occupational choice should be guaranteed by letting them choose from a few different jobs. Choose from tuna boats, agriculture, or tunnel construction.
If you’re doing anime, manga, games, idols, VTuber video sites, SNS message board reply battles on the internet, a day would be over in the blink of an eye, so there’s no way you’d work lol.
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