I'm with the researchers on that one. Go for a walk through Nishinari on any afternoon and you'll be able to tell that those government statistics - like many o

I'm with the researchers on that one. Go for a walk through Nishinari on any afternoon and you'll be able to tell that those government statistics - like many of the stats I see from the Japan government - are clearly not to be trusted. I heard recently that one reason for homelessness is that without an address no debts you owe can be collected, so some people make themselves homeless for a few years (something like 5 or 7 years, if I recall) and after that period the debt is void. I cannot say if this is true or not but it wouldn't surprise me. If bankruptcy is more difficult or ruinous then perhaps it's a viable alternative. I also notice very well dressed homeless men sometimes, using the park facilities to wash their stuff. They'll have business attire that would make you think they're an average salary man, until you look a bit more closely. Whether these people are counted, certainly by tourists or the inattentive, I don't know either, but they're around.