Rumor has it that Hiroshima Taro is a Hiroshima University graduate who used to work for Mazda corporation- Hiroshima's largest employer.
Others like to talk about the fact that he demands money from film crews and reporters who want to take his picture, making him a millionaire who chooses the streets over a life of luxury. Some talk of how he mumbles to himself and collects watches.
If you saw him, you would probably stare along with the rest of us at his decadent rags and layers of filth as he struts down the main shopping streets in step with businesspeople, shoppers and dating couples.
Hiroshima has a history of homelessness dating back to the hundreds of thousands left homeless after little boy was dropped on the city.
When the homeless were victims of war, people came from around Japan and the world to help them. There are well-documented reports of all the great work the volunteers did rebuilding housing, and collecting donations. Doctors and nurses who spent countless hours helping the sick, wounded and emotionally distressed.

In stark contrast, is what happened yesterday in Hiroshima city.
The Hiroshima Chugoku Shimbun yesterday (February 7, 2001) reported that "Hiroshima Taro" asked a passer-by to help him get to a hospital because he was feeling ill.
That good Samaritan called an ambulance and "Taro" was then refused from 9 hospitals before being admitted and treated for pneumonia.

I would be very interested to know what the names of those 9 hospitals are...
but even more interested to know which hospital finally said "yes" to "taro-san."

It is estimated that there were more than 200 homeless people living in Hiroshima city. The Chugoku weekly reported in December, 1999
that "...around 9 pm the subways around Hiroshima Station tend to fill with cardboard structures, as around 40 or 50 homeless people seek a place for the night. One 50-year-old man said he had come from Osaka. His job had disappeared after the completion of the rebuilding necessitated by the Kobe earthquake and he was unable to find other work."

Along the river in Ushita, there is a community of "blue sheet" tarp structures developing. It is an easy area to set up because there are public toilets with running water and sympathetic locals who donate food, bedding and clothing. Apparently one of the shacks is occupied by a mentally challenged woman and her infant.
I have seen other homeless Ushita residents walking down the main street with plastic shopping bags tied around their feet as shoes.

"It's not like we are not sympathetic" an Ushita resident says "but being caught up in my middle-class bull**** I don't want to overstep the boundary of invading their privacy."

Jan. 1999 "YOMIURI" report on the homeless census:
"According to the TMG's surveys conducted in 1996 and 1997, 77% of the respondents answered that the reason why they became homeless was "unemployment" and in other cities according to supporting groups, the situation is almost the same. Middle aged and elderly homeless people who lost their jobs because of industrial restructuring and company bankruptcies are increasing. Homeless people from white-collar jobs are not rare. Taking this actual condition into consideration, some municipalities offer meals and temporary shelters, but there is no financial aid by the state at all. Most local welfare offices don't apply the livelihood protection law either, saying homeless people have no fixed address and/or are able to work. Many municipalities strongly request the state to tackle this problem, complaining that a single city cannot solve it because warm measures in one city may invite homeless people form other cities."

A "homeless march" to the G8 summit was organized last year in an effort to unite homeless people nation-wide to work together to improve their treatment by the government.
"...the situation has improved, thanks to various support independent groups and self-help groups. The government has finally recognized that the homeless themselves are not solely to blame and that the societal structure needs to be reviewed. Discrimination and prejudice against homeless people exists- there is constant eviction of homeless people, due to complaints by nearby residents. Homeless people are often victims of attack by juveniles, who give the excuse of needing "stress relief."
Homelessness is often the end result of low-skill, low wageworkers who are an easy target of lay-offs, and who are often seen as "expendable".
The Japanese government refuses to undergo any special official unemployment measures We, the homeless, who have been deprived of the right to live as ordinary Human beings, managed to maintain our lives, by building up huts and communities on riverbeds or parks, and scavenging for food. We stand against any forms of compulsory expulsion, which ruin all or what little we have. HABITAT II (1996) is an international measure aimed to protect people's lives on the streets- we hope that it will be respected in Japan as well."

Although there seems to be little help from government, there are agencies and organizations in Japan helping the homeless.

Doug Struck of the Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, November 29, 2000 writes:
"The government's slow response to the problem has been caused in part by the fact that the homeless in Japan are so unobtrusive; most would never consider begging. They build shacks in the corners of parks and keep their sites clean; only the laundry hung on fences draws attention to those who live there.
'They are not a source of crime. They try to live very peacefully and try to be very clean,' said Harita. 'They know they have been allowed to put up their tents in public places, so they volunteer to clean up the area. There are unwritten rules they try to live with.'
Many scrounge for cans or scrap to sell to recyclers, or take occasional day jobs. Soup kitchens are not common, but some organizations bring hot food to the parks on a regular basis. Harita says government and volunteer help is not enough for the homeless.
'I think it will probably be a long-term social problem,' she said. 'The general public and the administration have wanted to put these people out of sight. But living in parks and streets lacks a basic humanity.'"

What can we do to help in Hiroshima?
Talk about it with your co-workers and friends, and do what your conscience tells you to do. There are no set rules and some people don't want our help or might be offended by "our middle-class guilt imposing on them."
But on the other hand, they might be in great need and appreciate a bit of kindness.
If you know of any groups which help the homeless in Hiroshima, please let us know.