Homeless Women in Japan

Since 1992, when the recession began, the number of homeless people has increased in Japan. One of the most distinct features of Japanese homelessness is that most homeless people are elder single men, and the proportion of homeless women is extremely small, only 3 percent. As a result, homelessness is generally regarded as a male phenomenon. Recently, however, the number of homeless women has increased little by little. Another key point in understanding homelessness in Japan is that the word "homeless" generally means rough sleepers. lf the term "homeless" included people staying in temporary accommodations, the proportion of homeless women would be much higher. In Japan, however, there has been very littele research on homeless women. The objectives of this study are (1) to reveal the circumstances of homeless women in Japan; (2) to compare the circumstances of homeless women in Japan to those of homeless women in North America; and (3) to consider what kinds of research on homeless women are needed in Japan. Relative to North America, where the proportion of homeless women is 15 to 35 percent, the proportion of homeless women in Japan is small. This is partly due to the pervasive norm that woman shoud be in the home reflecting the exceedingly patriarchal nature of Japanese society. In this study, the reasons for the wide gender gap in the proportion of rough sleepers are explained by three factors: different labor market opportunities between working class men and women, the historic development of the Yoseba, and different welfare policies for homeless men an women. Homeless women can be found not only on the streets; there are also many more hidden homeless dispersed in various types of temporary accommodations, such as Seikatsu-hogo-shisetsu, Boshi-seikatsu-shien-shisetsu, and Fujin-hogo-shisetsu. Further research would benefit from investigating hidden homelessness among men and women, and understanding homelessness from a sender-sensitive perspective. With such studies, we would obtain a greater and deeper understanding of peopre who are in risk of housing.