The hugely expensive transformation of Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics will soon be well underway. And in the meantime, the much-touted Abenomics continues to stumble along, offering much in the way of promises, if little in perceivable gains. But for many people in the capital, times continue to be tough — really tough.
Coli says
Excellent picture. Would like to see this in b&w as well. but now that I’ve said that and looked at the picture again, the few bright colors in the foreground and background make a ice contrast with his drab colors. Good shot
Lee says
Cheers. As grim as the subject matter is, I was pleased the way it came out.
Black and white would have definitely made it grittier, but like you say, colour brings out the contrasts. The urban art works so much better in colour too.
Hans ter Horst says
Yeah, it is not all Ginza and expensive teashops for the Japanese. What about the girl in yellow dress graffiti? I’ve seen it around Tokyo before in different poses
Lee says
No, sadly it’s not. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
I don’t know, but fascinating, isn’t it? There’s a link here to the artist, including a video, but unfortunately it’s not in English: http://goo.gl/dnkGLw
Richard says
Hi – I want these people helped.
Abe has shown an amazing willingness to reach outside his comfort zone to help the economy, but he is only one guy surrounded by the merchant class, so little has changed from the old days. The powerful, wealthy elite are like this everywhere. I could take millions of pictures showing the same thing here in the USA or in virtually every country in the world.
Abe asked for help from outside his usual circles, and talked to someone who gave him excellent, but limited, advice on the economy,
Between his good intentions and actual action, there are many people who do not want to see these people helped, and they deliberately mangle his intent.
There are ways to help these people that do not cause harm to the economy but would actually help it and them, yet things are very bad still.
In the future, very far away indeed, is the place we all need to live. We are not likely to see it at all and this is hard to bear.
When we help others, we should not count the cost, for the costs themselves can be swept away in the blink of an eye.
Ha, you did not expect such a comment, did you? I have lots of this stuff to say to anyone, but I am not saying these things for myself, but for the children, even the old ones bent over shuffling through an alleyway in a foreign country.
Thank you for having a comment section where I could say this to whoever reads it. Please do what you can, for I cannot ask more of anyone.
Lee says
You are very welcome.
The Japanese myth of everyone being middle class held for quite some time, but as the gulf between the rich and poor, those with job security and the growing numbers with none, it’s sadly inevitable that increasingly more people will be left behind. And even worse, it’s hard to see anyone willing to change that. On the contrary really…
MrSatyre says
Not trolling, honest, but have ANY of the umpteen dozen and a half political parties, left or right, in Japan ever really accomplished anything noteworthy when it comes to the poor and homeless? I read a lot about promises for this and offers for that year after year, but my infrequent visits and photos like this seem to indicate that this is the tragic norm.
Lee says
Good point. One I can’t argue with at all. As much as I dislike Abe, I can’t blame him for this. Well, at least not directly. His party is arguably different, as they’ve pretty much held power since the war, but at the same time is Japan any different than many other countries in its treatment of the poor?
But pointing the finger isn’t solving the problem, is it? A solution is really what’s needed. Where that’s coming from though I don’t know…