[rtpg]

I have a hard time imagining it to be cheaper to live in this truck than most things. And the kid… I can’t imagine this is good for the kid.

Obviously the point of the van is that you can move around a lot!

Aside: vagrancy is illegal in Japan, so if you’re sticking to the law you probably need to rent somewhere (or use your parents) and have a registered address.

[jefftk]

> I can’t imagine this is good for the kid.

Why would you expect this to be a bad life for a 1.5yo? They get a lot of time with their parents, and a lot of time outside?

I'd feel differently with, say, a 4yo where that this sort of life would mean not having friends, but a 1.5yo is too young for that to be an issue.

[scandox]

This is absolutely fine for a young kid. Kids are way less conventional than adults at that age. If a kid gets food, warmth and attention they're basically golden.

[Loughla]

It solidly depends on the age/stage of development of the child. When you say young, that really means like <3 years. Anything above that, and they really need stability, routine, and regular/stable interaction with individuals outside of the immediate family group to avoid long-term developmental and psychological issues.

[scandox]

Yeah I think one could quibble on the exact age...I think even up to 4 it would be OK. After that I think a more stable setup is definitely positive. I would say though that a stable environment where they get little attention from parents is not superior.

[ensignavenger]

- vagrancy is illegal in Japan

Is that why you don't see any homeless in Japan? They just arrest them for vagrancy and house them in jail?

[innocentoldguy]

There are homeless people in Japan. You'll see them sitting in alcoves by train stations or sleeping under a stack of umbrellas in parks sometimes. The places I've seen them most are in remote locations by rivers, where they'll set up tents or tie tarps to trees to live under. They aren't as ubiquitous as they are in the US though, and I've only seen a homeless person panhandling once in all my years in Japan.

[ensignavenger]

Yeah, I was doing more research and could not find anything to suggest that Japanese homeless are regularly arrested and housed in jails.

[grozzle]

There are lots of homeless in Japan, and people do see them.

Anyone living near Tokyo who has money, clothes, shoes, gas cans, batteries, shelter material, work opportunities etc they wish to pass on - please reply here or email i.am.grozzle at gmail, please. Or ask staff at Lavanderia cafe in Shinjuku ni-chome.

[ensignavenger]

Note: I can't find any source to confirm that vagrancy is illegal in Japan- the Wikipedia article on homelessness in Japan makes no mention of it- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan

[tmtvl]

According to a very untrustworthy source (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan) the numbers of homeless people are somewhat low-ish, if those numbers are anywhere near accurate it may account for the low visibility of the problem.

[seanmcdirmid]

> Is that why you don't see any homeless in Japan? They just arrest them for vagrancy and house them in jail?

Each time I've been to Japan I've noticed plenty of homeless people. They are really tidy about it, but you'll find encampments in Osaka and Tokyo if you just check out some of the parks.

[an_aparallel]

There are limited public places to "sit" in Tokyo/and other cities too, for example, this is increasingly common part of civic design, to encourage either "moving on", or "taking refuge" in shops/cafes > ie. spending.

It's basically discrimination by design.

[foobiekr]

If you have ever been to Tokyo you have seen plenty of homeless. Tokyo is where people take their shoes off before getting into their box.