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Japanese Internet Cafe Survey
According to the survey, there are some 3,600 internet cafes across the nation, many of them open 24 hours. During the survey period, the ministry found that around 60,900 Japanese people spend the night at one of these 24 hr Japanese Internet cafes on any given night. The same phenomena is evident throughout the globe, especially where you have unmanned internet locations, such as those in 24 hour EasyInternet Cafes in Europe. However, the Japanese internet cafes, which some call Manga cafes, are especially nice, as many offer the privacy of a small cubicle with a reclining chair and a computer and many offer comics (thus the term manga cafe), soft drinks, and even showers for free. In relation to the old-school homeless, however, the Japanese are a new breed, and the ministry estimates that about half of them already work in low-paying day-hire jobs, and are candidates for changing their situation, especially with a little help from the government. And that is exactly what the ministry is aiming to do, as they've added $2 million to their latest budget to handle the problem, helping the cafe sleepers back into the more productive work force. Another method to get these people off the internet cafes has been a social venture called M Crew. This company offers day jobs at building sites in the Tokyo metropolitan area and has temporary housing sites named "Rest Box" at 21 locations throughout central Tokyo. A bed at a Rest Box location costs about $12 per night. The idea behind the company is to help those without homes save money, in order to help them on their way to their own apartments. |