As this self-proclaimed "advanced nation" known as Japan approaches the end of the twentieth century, we find ourselves stripped of shelter and denied the means for a decent life. It is with anger that we, who have been condemned to live on the streets as "the wretched of the earth", announce the founding of the Shibuya Free Association for the Right to Housing and Well-being of the HOMELESS ("NOJIREN").
Our existence is a reality forced upon us by this society. Our unity represents a future that will smash this reality. We come together today so that we can seize, for ourselves and through our own power, what all people have a claim to.
NOJIREN is not seeking charity. While we will oppose all forced evictions, our goal is not simply to defend living on the streets. The homeless themselves are by no means satisfied with mere day-to-day survival on the streets.
We have no illusions that we can achieve our goals by simply repeating the call for "rights". NOJIREN is not an organization that restricts its activities to the region of Shibuya. NOJIREN is neither a committee nor a representative body.
What is NOJIREN? NOJIREN is an organization formed by the homeless themselves. Our name, "Shibuya Free Association for the Right to Housing and Well-being of the HOMELESS", summarizes our beliefs, our perspectives, and our goals.
While we do not restrict our activities to the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo, our name includes "Shibuya" because so many of the homeless are here and because our activities will center on Shibuya's Miyashita Park, which will serve as a base for reaching out to the homeless in surrounding neighborhoods.
The life that we seek is not simply the right to make it through another day but the right to a fulfilling, meaningful life. It is not simply the right to survive but the right to a decent life, which includes the right to employment.
Suitable housing that provides privacy and shelter from the elements is a basic necessity and is therefore one of our primary goals. Our activities will also revolve around establishing the right to not be evicted as well as the right to housing. The right to housing is a notion that has not gained wide currency in Japan (or so the politicians would like people to believe). It may be that even among ourselves the practical consequences of the right to housing have not been fully grasped. Nevertheless, we seek to reclaim the very notion of rights and, through our actions, make the right to housing a socially accepted fact.
We will take full control of our lives through our own power. Rights become a reality when people struggle to establish those rights, and it is for this struggle that we come together as a free association. Our free association stands in direct contrast with organizations based on rigid unity and top-down, centralized authority. The homeless themselves will be actively taking on the organizing, and supporters will work alongside the homeless as equals. Those who come together in the interests of the homeless will form links on the basis of their own free will, and all decisions will be made on the basis of equal footing between the homeless and their supporters.
We seek a society where homelessness is imposed on no one, a society where people are not forced into living situations they do not desire.
This involves forming strong bonds between the homeless themselves as well as between the homeless and their supporters. Furthermore, we will also be seeking connections with others, both the currently and formerly homeless throughout Tokyo, as well as nationwide and overseas.
It is an outrage that people who lack alternatives are denied even the right to live on the streets. For whatever reason, some may actually prefer living on the streets. We support people's right to live where they want, but our desire is to make more options available. We will oppose all attempts by the government and local residents to divide and conquer by separating the "good homeless," who are compliant to their demands, from the "bad homeless".
We have no future unless we can defend the lives of those around us who are homeless. This is where our struggle has to begin. Our thoughts and actions will be based solely on the interests of the homeless themselves. Rights cannot be achieved without struggle.
It goes without saying that the government's implementation of public assistance is woefully inadequate, while social workers consistently treat the homeless with contempt. Public assistance programs should be dealing with the issues facing the homeless such as medical care, housing, and employment, but the government only provides excuses while it sits on its hands. These are life-or-death matters for the homeless, particularly for the sick and elderly, and we intend to force action from the government regarding these issues.
The "Self-Help Center", which is being developed as the local government's response for the homeless in the Shinjuku area, is potentially useful in dealing with problems that are currently being ignored by public assistance. However, this plan is strictly limited to the Shinjuku area, and homeless from outside Shinjuku are being turned away. If this exclusionary policy continues, it must be concluded that the Self-Help Center was only meant as a stopgap measure for the purpose of avoiding a meaningful response to the issues facing the homeless. We call for an expansion of these self-help centers throughout Tokyo while also calling for overall improvements in services such as employment assistance.
We are looking toward the entire city of Tokyo. Beginning with Shibuya, we seek to build links with the homeless of the Yoyogi, Aoyama, and Ebisu neighborhoods, and then onto Shinjuku, Sanya, and the homeless throughout Tokyo.
The homeless are faced with a rigid system that makes it impossible for them to escape from their predicament. Despite this, much of the general public is made to believe that the homeless are to blame for their own problems. The struggle against this system can only be led by the homeless themselves and those who work directly with them.
Likewise, the only ones who can accurately communicate this are again the homeless themselves and those who work directly with them. We must raise our voices from the streets and smash the self-serving negative image of the homeless fabricated by the government and the media.
We call out to all our brothers and sisters on the streets to come together by their own free will and join us in our fight for to win better conditions for ourselves.
We will defend our own lives. We will build our own futures. It is time to stand up for our rights.
April 29, 1998