The Diary of a Starving Man

The New York Times Asia Pacific section has a sobering article today. A man’s corpse was discovered this past summer in Kitakyushu, Japan. He recorded the ordeal in his diary after he was cut off for welfare.
Those of us who live in the rural areas of Japan know that poverty is actually pretty prevalent a problem in Japan. Abandoned houses and lots (空家) are numerous, and most buildings are in some state of decay. But the Japanese often have a net of family that they are supposed to rely on; the homeless here are often said to be that way by choice. But how much choice does one have, when shame prevents one from getting help?

Japan has traditionally been hard on welfare recipients, and experts say this city’s practices are common to many other local governments. Applicants are expected to turn to their relatives or use up their savings before getting benefits. Welfare is considered less of an entitlement than a shameful handout.

It almost seems Japan would rather ignore and cover up their poor and starving. After all, these people don’t fit the mold, and those who don’t fit the mold are thrown out. Many of us are familiar with the Japanese idiom “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down”.
With more people living in internet cafes or staying with their parents as unemployed people (called N.E.E.T.S. in Japanese), an aging population, poorly protected rights for foreign workers, and a growing class gap, it looks like the problems Japan is ignoring and covering up will only grow. If you read the article, be sure to listen to the audio section for more about the current situation.