Subject: M-G: Fw: Homeless Protest In Tokyo, Japan
From: Arm The Spirit <ats-AT-locust.etext.org> (Redirected by Thomas P.Murray <tmurpat-AT-sprynet.com>)
Date: 09 Dec 1997 22:51:04 -0800




Forwarded by Liam R.Flynn <trinity-AT-hot-shot.com>
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 From: Arm The Spirit <ats-AT-locust.etext.org> (Redirected by Thomas P.Murray <tmurpat-AT-sprynet.com>)
 To: trinity-AT-hot-shot.com, marxism-international-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu
 Cc: trinity-AT-hot-shot.com
 Date: 09 Dec 1997 22:51:04 -0800
 Subject: Homeless Protest In Tokyo, Japan
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Homeless Protest In Tokyo, Japan

Statement Of Protest
November 27, 1997
              
     On Saturday night, November 22, 1997, Shibuya station with
its weekend crowd was suddenly surrounded by an abnormal
atmosphere as the area was conquered by almost 150 of officers of
Shibuya ward office, staff memberss of the Eidan subway (the
Teito Rapid Transit Authority), guards, and policemen. This
imposingness was only to stop the distribution of a meal and a
meeting of homeless people.
     Ever since the bubble economy ended, Japan has been
depressed, so the number of homeless people who are obliged to
sleep on the streets, in stations, and in parks is increasing
more and more, and the total is now at least 3,700 (according to
the Tokyo Metropolitan Government). The policy of the
administration has always been "eviction" and "dismissal", not a
drastic measure like welfare, jobs, or housing, and the attitude
has been stimulating prejudice and discrimination by citizens,
typically in the case of attacks on homeless people by youths.
     The forced eviction from the west exit passages in Shinjuku
station on January 24th of last year by the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government was far from the solution of the problem, and it only
led to the worsening of homeless people's environment and the
repulsion of Japanese and foreign people. This measure, taken by
Tokyo Governor Aoshima (who dared to say "Those homeless people
have a unique philosophy. They like to live like that."), was
condemned by a Tokyo local court this spring. The judicial
decision declared that the homeless people's resistance was right
and there was a grave defect in the procedure. The Tokyo
Metropolitan Government, driven to the wall, at last recognized
the homeless people's organization (Shinjuku RENRAKUKAI) as a
partner of negotiation and began a suppor program, promising that
they wouldn't evict homeless people and wouldn't send them to
construction camps, which are like a prison.
     Here in Shibuya (what is called "young people's town" in
Tokyo), homeless people are also surely increasing. There are 100
people around the station and this is an increase of 30-40
people. Seeing this, staffs of the subway and security guards
have been stepping up their evictions underground for the past
two years, and now homeless people can't even sit down.
Furthermore, for example in Miyashita Park, officers of the
construction section of Shibuya ward office are continuing to
evict them, so there are no more spaces for homeless people to
sleep or take rest. The welfare office doesn't apply the
livelihood protection program (LPP), even though LPP is an
undoubtedly right for homeless people. Shibuya police consider
homeless people to be peace breakers, confirming their identity,
taking their pictures, eventually violating their human rights.
This spring, the police refused to deal with the attacks on
homeless people by youths, which occurred often.
     The city administration has been letting homeless people die
on the roads before its very eyes without extending a rescuing
hand, though we made a proposal a lot of times to build an
integral policy for them, and the Shibuya ward office wouldn't
begin an effective step. Now, homeless people say "We will defend
our livelihood and lives by ourselves." Eliminated by society and
the administration, they support one another. Nobody wants to be
homeless, and everybody is struggling to get out of a life on the
streets. INOKEN (a support group for homeless people) has been
acting to help make homeless people's unity, not dividing
homeless people and supporters into a receiving side and a giving
side. Cooking, eating, and meeting on Saturday nights in
Miyashita Park is one of our activities. And we do various other
activities, such as applications for LPP on Mondays, doctor's
consultations, etc.
     Winter, the harshest season for homeless people, is coming.
Nothing can prevent homeless people from moving to a warmer place
as they have the right to live. In the beginning of November, we
changed the place of distributing meals and meeting from
Miyashita Park to the basement of Shibuya station because it was
getting cold. We chose the area where the pedestrian traffic was
not dense. (We cooked in Miyashita Park and carried the food to
the basement.) Until the second week, it seemed that an assistant
station master assented to our request to use a corner of the
basement as a place for eating supper and meeting from 7:00 p.m.
to 9:00 p.m. every Saturday, on the condition that we never
bother the passers-by and clean the place afterwards, though the
staff and the guards tried to force us leave on the pretext of
complaints by passers-by. From these two time's experience and
the fact that we did the same thing in other areas underground
last winter, the Teito Rapid Transit Authority can know there's
no problem at all. On the contrary, they evicted us with a lot of
policemen in an eccentric way. Against our "tiny" activity, more
than 50 of the staffs and the guards checked the area, and behind
them more than 30 policemen and almost 50 riot police were
mobilized (5 micro buses). In Miyashita Park where we were
cooking, several officials from the construction section of
Shibuya ward office interfered under the excuse of our using
fire, though we used a safe portable propane gas cooker and also
made anti-fire provisions. We finished cooking, pushing our way
through their disturbance, and tried to move to the distribution
area underground with a big cooking pot, but the staffs of the
Teito Rapid Transit Authority wouldn't let us go down. We
protested fiercely against them but they only repeated the words
"This troubles passers-by." After that they became silent and
never explained any more.
     The intention of the Shibuya police who keep threatening us
is obvious, that is to provoke us, framing up the injury,
arresting, and not caring about human rights. This intention is
represented by the words of one chief official: "This is to
purify the surroundings." What a discriminative word it is! And
this means a naked elimination, too. They oppressed our
meeting, which is the minimum guarantee for us to live. They try
to force us to die this winter by breaking our unity.
     We went back to Miyashita Park, not being provoked, and had
a meeting to the end. A lot of passers-by also accused the way
the police and the Teito Rapid Transit Authority acted.
     We impeach them for attacking us like this, especially at
this time when the winter is coming with wholehearted anger. We
shall never let them evict us and we shall begin the activities
of "struggle to live through the winter" with a big unity of
homeless people.

INOKEN and homeless people in Shibuya and Harajuku
Tel: 03 (Tokyo) 5273-5065
E-Mail: inoken-AT-jca.ax.apc.org
http://www.jca.ax.apc.org/inoken/

Shinjuku RENRAKUKAI
Committee for Struggle against Unemployment of Day Laborers

(Source: A-Infos)

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