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Sep 23 2009 3 Comments

Tokyo’s under-supported underclass?

It’s arguably not so many moons ago that the vast majority of Japanese considered themselves middle-class. If indeed they were even concerned with such classifications.

But now, with the job for life system long gone, and a third of all workers on temporary contracts, Japanese society is in real danger of fracturing; irreconcilably separating into the have and the have-nots. Or, in the case of the nation’s working poor and homeless, the have-nothings. An ever-growing group that is often referred to as the underclass, which very sadly is sometimes quite literally true.

Japanese homeless

With seemingly little in the way of support to help them pull themselves out of their predicament.

Japanese homeless

Categorized: Current Affairs, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joseph Tame says

    9/23/2009 at 6:11 pm

    That first shot is a classic. Great how you have both sides in the one frame.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/25/2009 at 8:12 am

      Thanks Joseph. Had to play a bit of a waiting game though until the two ladies walked across the bridge.

      Reply
  2. Akimika says

    9/23/2009 at 8:36 pm

    As melancholy as it is, the state and direction of the economy and how the job system is structured make me wonder if I am going to end up in a place like that if I lose my job.

    Reply

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