How to End Homelessness

EPISODE 2: SHINING A LIGHT ON JAPAN’S INVISIBLE HOMELESS POPULATION

Official government figures of people affected by homelessness in Japan have fallen to some of the lowest levels since measurements started, but experts say this doesn’t show the full picture. We speak to Big Issue Japan co-founder Miku Sano.

Miku Sano has been working on tackling homelessness since founding Big Issue Japan in 2003, but how has the situation changed since then and what is being done to support the rising number of young people who are priced out of Japan’s largest cities?

We talk about the state of homelessness in Japan’s second city, Osaka, which has the largest number of people who are homeless. We also discuss the millions of empty houses which are scattered across the country and whether these can be part of a solution.