homelessness in US and Japan

[mindstalk]

The US feds claim 500,000 homeless people in the US; outside counters claim 1.5 million. (Wikipedia, numbers a few years old and different years.)

Japan, with 1/3 the population, claims 25,000 homeless people at the 2003 peak and 5,000 in 2018.

I don't know anything about comparative methodology, or homeless specific policies; I do know Japanese zoning, and it's much closer to a 'free market' in housing than the US has seen since 1930.

Comments

[marycatelli]

Much depends on how you count.

[mtbc]

There's certainly a difference between we've managed to get you a temporary room for a few nights and here is a place you can settle into. In Britain there are various complications stopping some homeless people from opting for technically available space, ranging from that it doesn't appear to be safe (given the other residents), it's such low quality (e.g., mold from the damp sets off respiratory issues), to that they wouldn't be allowed to bring their dog. The US, perhaps now the UK too since care in the community, of course has a widespread issue of untreated mental illness, both among the homeless and in jails, but I don't know what the prevalence is, nor if the US generally mirrors the UK's chronic shortage of social housing (since right to buy).