Tokyo homelessness
Shinjuku Station 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 8, 2016. There is homelessness in Tokyo. Estimates of the homeless population here vary from about 18,000 to about 40,000. But it's not a major concern either of the metropolitan government or the national government which mostly see homelessness as a voluntary lifestyle choice. Really. The problem seemed worse (because it was more visible) throughout the 1990s. But since then governments and police have pushed the homeless further out of view.