Homeless people stay in encampments under banners for the Tokyo Olympics on July 15 in the capital’s Shinjuku Ward. (Takaaki Fujino)
Hundreds of people in central Tokyo have been given eviction notices even though they have no permanent addresses and nowhere to go.
Metropolitan government officials have entered the final phase of clearing the area of homeless people before the Opening Ceremony for the Tokyo Olympic Games on July 23.
A 62-year-old man who has lived on the streets for a month near the Tokyo metropolitan government’s building in Shinjuku Ward said an apparent government official approached him on July 8 to deliver a note.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has finally become very serious about this issue. We heartily welcome this move. Jan. 2 05:41 am JST Jan. 2 | 06:16 am JST
Tsuyoshi Inaba, who heads Tsukuroi Tokyo Fund, an organization that supports those in economic distress. He was referring to he welfare ministry s website which has posted numerous messages calling on those in financial distress to apply right away. The ministry is trying to eradicate the stigma of people applying for public assistance by widely publicizing the fact it is a right of anyone facing dire economic circumstances, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.