The Precarious Lives of Homeless Scavengers in Tokyo Before and After the 2008 Cr












            ******************************************************************************************

            *
            ******************************************************************************************
            Abstract

            Awareness of poverty in Japan significantly increased after the bubble economy ended in 19
            of older men, approaching or past retirement age, living in blue tents and on park benches
            first to challenge the assumption of a classless Japan. One strategy for men experiencing 

            alleviate their hardships and survive is to gather and sell aluminium cans. This paper eth
            explores their precarious work and documents the various patterns of gathering and selling
            looking at the impact of both local and global forces (neoliberalism) on their work. Based

            that included the economic recession of 2008–2009, I observed six months of the work of th
            economic stability and six months during a severe recession. My research shows how homeles

            the work of gathering and selling cans to survive during a stagnant economy and then adapt
            recession, which resulted in much lower income for their labour as the price of aluminium 
            decreased. I argue that their work was affected by the global economy and that collecting 

            earning money helped homeless men survive through the crisis. Finally, I conclude that ear
            selling cans allowed the men to maintain their self-respect and pride, have a sense of pur
            necessities, and occasionally splurge on entertainment.

            Keywords: Japan; homelessness; recycling; precarity; globalization

            Matt Wickens [ URL "LM-1234.html "]


            Download PDF [ URL "LM-1226-version1-wickens_w.pdf"]