July 2002 Law to Promote the Indpendence of Homeless People
Law to Promote the Indpendence of Homeless People (translation by Abe, may not be the official translation)
Local & municipal governments, Homeless advocates, Democratic Party
Government general budget
Duration 10 years starting April 2003
It is the first time that the central government of Japan has formally done something for the homeless people. It is said that it contains many flaws, but many feel it is a first step.
Detailed description of the reformThe number of the homeless people has risen dramatically in the past few years. According to the government estimate, the number of the homeless people (those sleeping outside, not counting those sleeping in shelters. There are not many shelters for the homeless in Japan.) is about 24,000 but the advocates for rights of homeless people claim it to be much more. Up to now, the problem of the homeless people is left to local and municipal governments, and local and municipal governments used their own discretions to handle the problem. The most common way was to do nothing. The Public Assistance Law (Seikatsu-Hogo Ho), which provides cash benefit to the poor regardless of their age, sex or household type, does not exclude the homeless people, but many local and municipal governments did not apply it to the homeless people because of rather strict application of the Law's "Every means available" clause. Some municipalities where the number of the homeless is especially large provided their own services such as free-meal and shelters. However, because these provisions were municipal and local government's initiatives, there has been no financial back-up from the central government. Together with residents protests that the homeless people living on streets and in parks drive down businesses and pose security threats and hamper "proper" use of public spaces, these financial problems were major headache for the local and municipal governments where the homeless problem is especially severe.
Many are touched upon in the previous question. The local and municipal governments with a large homeless population are the ones who were most active in pursuing this Law because of reasons stated above. Advocacy for the rights of homeless people had mixed reactions (See Question 17).
The law, as it says in its name, aims to "promote" independence of homeless people. Its aim is to "solve the homeless problem" considering the human rights of the homeless people as well as the frictions between the homeless and the residents.
Homeless people all over Japan, but especially in large cities
The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport jointly has responsibility to set a basic policy to promote the independence of the homeless people.
The local and municipal government must, in accordance to the basic policy, construct implementation plan.
The central government must appropriate funds to the local and municipal governments and to private organizations to implement the above implementation plans.
The administrator of public facilities and spaces, when the use of such places are hampered by the homeless people residing in it, in coordination with measures to promote the independence of the homeless people, must take measures to resume the proper use of such places/facilities.
The law itself is general, and it only enables the government to do "something" about the problem and ensures the financial backing. The actual measures and policies are to be decided in future.
The number of the homeless people living within the public spaces/facilities will be decreased.
Not yet known.
Possibily on Public Assistance Law.
The advocacy groups for the rights of the homeless people had mixed reactions to this Law. While some were actively involved in enacting the law, others were fiercely opposed. The one of the reasons for the opposition is that we already have a law to provide assistance to the homeless (Public Assistance Law), and instead of creating a new law which is specifically for the homelss and segregates the homeless people from other "normal" poor people, the Public Assistance Law should be more strictly applied to the homeless population. Another reason is that the Law places too much emphasis on the "independence through employment", and those who can not do so are left behind. Many homeless people are unable to find or keep work because of various reasons (age, physical and mental problems, family relations, etc. ) , and the law does not specify what to do about them. Even for those who do manage to find work (independence), in this era of high unemployment, the work tends to be of unstable nature. The law does not look into what is the real cause people becoming homeless. The third and probably the biggest reason is that the law provides way for local and municipal governments to forcefully evacuate the homeless people from public spaces, without providing facilities for them to go. There will be long and hard debate in the interpretation of the Law on whether or not the government can do so.
The law is significant in that the central government finally took responsibility to do something about the homeless people. However, as many advocates claim, the law is very vague and is open to many different interpretations. It is also hard to wipe off the air of "Independence (i.e. find work) or else". The homeless people are very different from each other and each has different and complex set of problems which lead them to become a homeless. I think it is a step forward, but is in danger of stepping toward a wrong direction as well to toward a right direction.
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