Comments by "alukuhito" (@alukuhito) on "The Dark Secret Behind Japan's 0% Homelessness Rate" video.

  1. I'm a westerner who's lived in Japan over 15 years. To be honest, I liked the fact that I could go downtown without anyone asking me for money. I wondered where the homeless people were, but then I found out. There's the blue tarp phenomenon. A lot of homeless people get a hold of a relative cheap tarp. For some reason most of those are blue in Japan. They use that for shelter under bridges, in certain parks, along rivers, and in the woods, amongst other places. For a while I was working in Yokohama. Kannai Station attracts homeless people because there are underground pedestrian passages where they can set up some cardboard and whatever else they have to sleep on. One day, I saw a pretty rough-looking homeless guy walking around, with his pants falling off. It was really sad to see a businessman in a suit laughing at him. That kind of person is a lot worse than the typical homeless person. To not understand that you've got it better and that you too could be in a bad situation is pretty pathetic. Thinking back, I'm not sure that I've ever been asked for money in Japan, whereas in the old country, it would be a daily experience as long as I was out and about. A couple of times I've given homeless people food. I was surprised to see some guy sitting in the corner of a local train station. I bought him some food at the convenience store there because I had seen him earlier. When I gave it to him he seemed honestly surprised and asked me how I knew he was hungry. There's definitely homelessness in Japan, but it's a whole different thing compared to western countries.
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  2. Definitely. People don't realize how much is out of their hands. And there's also the domino effect. You lose your job, you can't find work, so your wife leaves you. Now, you've got no money and nobody caring about you. Nobody wants to hire you because you're unemployed, so must be undesirable. Another woman doesn't want to go out with you because you're all alone, so must be a loser. Your wife demands money for the kids if you have them, because it's Japan and men are supposed to financially support their families. She gets the government to force you to pay her, so now you're forced to work under the table being treated like shit. You lose all self-esteem. Anything could happen. These people with no sympathy are ignorant.
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  3.  @makaylaforbes6719  Yeah, it's tricky. Unless something crazy happens, I know I'll never be able to afford a house in my hometown. The prices are insane. I'm doing OK though and now live in Japan, but, yes, it would be nice if people around the world could afford a simple home on a full-time salary, regardless of what kind of work they do.
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  4. @@Riorozen I would never trust such a callous man who laughs at another's misery like that. I was there. You weren't. You want to join him, go ahead. Everyone's situation changes. You might find yourself poor one day.
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