New Developments
In Shibuya, a group of homeless persons, together with some supporters built a mutual companionship through common activities such as preparing free meals for the homeless and night patrolling. This group is called Nojiren. United they confront the administration and obtain results such as stopping compulsory evictions and getting social welfare assistance as well as government support for medical check up and job acquisition.
By early 1999, the homeless of Shibuya realized that the administration do not have any serious assistance program to help them get work and shelter. From this time on, they began to experiment on new ways to obtain jobs and housing.
Problems Facing the Homeless Looking for Jobs
Without an address, it is difficult to obtain a formal job, even if the applicants are in their 20's. They have many problems -- they do not have money for transportation to places where there are jobs and when they do get a job, the wages will be paid at the end of the week or of the month. Until this time, the penniless homeless will have no money to pay his transportation to work or his meals. Another problem is the quality of sleep on the road. It is shallow and not adequate for a person who holds a regular job.
Development of the Nojiren -- the "Barrack Concept" (May 1999)
Some younger companions built in the Yoyogi Park four temporary structures with wood and pipes. These are easily dismantled in case of a forcible eviction. These shelters are used temporarily by the homeless who have gotten a job but have not received their first wages and are unable to rent a room.
The Nojiren has also created a community reserve fund for the purpose of accessing jobs. It lends money to their companions who need transportation fare when they look for jobs. They also support this fund by giving a portion of their of first wages or of the profit they make from community based businesses.
Creation of jobs
Some of the members of the Nojiren are professional cooks. They make lunches and cakes which are sold at various public gatherings. Other members collect items discarded from houses. These can still be used and sold to the public. The homeless are also beginning to administer their own funds. Up till now, the profits are insignificant but the homeless find meaning in these. Where before the homeless were made to believe that they were useless because they lost their jobs, now by working together they are recovering the dignity they have lost as human persons and are enjoying the common experience.
Some of the members work during harvest time in a farm in Yamanashi prefecture. They have found an idle piece of land of 300 tsubo (1 tsubo= 3.30 square meters) and have talked with the owner to see if Nojiren could rent it as a community farm. The Nojiren people is also dreaming of the following income generating activities: taking care and walking the pets of upper class families, cleaning households, producing a magazine that only homeless people could sell similar to what the homeless do in England. As a result of these, the people of Nojiren have increased their confidence and self-reliance.
Nojiren in the Context of the Asian Housing Movement
The housing movement of the poor has gone through several phases in Asia:
1) During the 70's the main action of the urban poor was to oppose forcible evictions by confronting the authorities. This "confrontation type movement" was often successful in stopping evictions and in obtaining relocation sites for the people.
2) During the 80's, efforts towards social integration emerged whereby squatters made use of established financial institutions to improve their habitat and get public recognition as citizens.
3) Also in the 80s, in Pakistan, a self-help organization of slum dwellers began to build a sewerage system by themselves without waiting for the administration to do something for them. In other places, saving and credit programs were started outside the formal financial structures. The poor themselves controlled these programs. This is called self-managed development .
Reflecting about Nojiren
Nojiren today is moving from confrontation to a self-managed movement. From a feeling of uselessness, the people now feel confident. They are trying new alternatives which are more attractive to them. This new approach has more social impact than confrontation with the administration.
Certainly, it is very difficult to convince the homeless that they can do something for themselves. But when the homeless met other homeless who have developed some autonomy and gained results, they are inspired. This is called "exchange of experiences among companions". They believe that what the others are doing, they themselves, can also do. This type of exchange has been very successful in Asia and Africa. However, for the homeless in Shibuya, it is difficult to profit from this exchange of experiences.
The Nojiren has not found other models in Japan and the situation of other Asian slums seem different. If the experience of Nojiren is successful, other homeless in Japan can be similarly helped.
Building a Community
To build a community of the poor, the joint efforts of the members are very important. In Shibuya, there were two main factors that weaken the community union. The first one was a feeling of despair because of lack of visible results in the people's continuous struggles against the overwhelming power of the administration. This was why the community became weaker in 1998. The second factor was related to success. When through the struggle some victories were obtained, the daily pressure threatening the homeless soften and the urgency to act together tended to weaken.
It was difficult to keep alive the community efforts only by confronting the authorities and the Nojiren members began to try a self-managed development approach. This approach, however, is in danger of dividing the poor leaving aside the weakest of the members who are not able to become autonomous.
Solidarity is needed in every type of action. The companions of the movement who aim for autonomy and visible results need to break away from a selfish attitude and look after those who are left in a much worst situation. If those companions advocating for autonomy fall becase of their selfishness and restrictions, then the movement, which they are fostering, will fail.
Conclusion
Finally, I would like to indicate some special characteristics of the Japanese homeless with respect to other countries of Asia:
1. Homeless in Japan are usually single men.
2. Except for those living in public parks and at the riversides, most of them are not living in fixed places or in sites fit for building up a community.
3. The financial situation is quite different from other Asian squatters. Most of the dwellers of Asian slums do not have much money. Some of them just save 10 or 20 yen a day and feel confident about themselves. They believe that by organizing saving groups they are strengthening the community links. In Japan, homeless people have been, since childhood, accustomed to see big money and even now, and if they are lucky to get a job they can easily get 5,000 yen a day. (1US$=Y 122) It therefore remains a question whether in Japan the homeless by constantly putting aside small savings in common could form a real community.
4. The last point is the issue of community awareness in Japanese society. Japan, in the process of high economic growth, has lost much of the community awareness. Efforts to rebuild the community sensitivity will not be easy at all. Nevertheless, if the homeless and the poor are able to build their own communities, they will challenge the Japanese society to change again into a society where community awareness is alive. This is why self-managed development that has community as its basis, is not only extremely important for the homeless, but also for Japan.