Net cafe refugees
Encyclopedia
also known as is a term for a growing class of homeless people in Japan
who do not own or rent a residence and thus have no permanent address
and sleep in 24 hour Internet café
s or manga café
s.
Such cafes originally provided only Internet services, services offered has boomed to include food, drink, and showers. These are often used by commuters who miss the last train, however the net cafe refugee trend has seen large numbers of people use it as their home.
study estimated that over 5,400 people are spending at least half of their week staying in net cafes. It has been alleged that this phenomenon is part of an increasing wealth gap in Japan, which has historically been a very economically equal society.
s, hostel
s, or any other option besides sleeping on the street. It was also estimated that about half of those staying have no job, while the other half work in low-paid temporary jobs, which paid around 100,000 yen
($1000) per month - lower than what is needed to rent an apartment and pay for transportation in a city like Tokyo
.
word based on English. Typically, the cyber-homeless are unemployed or underemployed and cannot afford to rent even the cheapest apartment, which is more than the cost per month to rent an internet booth daily. The cyber-homeless may even use the address of the internet cafe on resume
s when applying for jobs to conceal their present form of accommodation.
The fee of 1400-2400 yen
for a night—which may include free soft drinks, TV, comics
and internet access—is less than for capsule hotel
s. Some cyber-homeless may also be freeters.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
who do not own or rent a residence and thus have no permanent address
Japanese addressing system
The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. In Japanese, addresses are written using the opposite convention from Western addresses, starting with the biggest geographical entities down to the more specific ones....
and sleep in 24 hour Internet café
Internet cafe
An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...
s or manga café
Manga cafe
A is a kind of café in Japan where people can read manga. People pay for the time they stay in the café. Most manga cafés also offer internet access like and vice versa, making the two terms mostly interchangeable in Japan. . Additional services include video games, television, snack/beverage...
s.
Such cafes originally provided only Internet services, services offered has boomed to include food, drink, and showers. These are often used by commuters who miss the last train, however the net cafe refugee trend has seen large numbers of people use it as their home.
Prevalence
A Japanese governmentGovernment of Japan
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...
study estimated that over 5,400 people are spending at least half of their week staying in net cafes. It has been alleged that this phenomenon is part of an increasing wealth gap in Japan, which has historically been a very economically equal society.
Economics
According to the Japanese government survey, those staying have little interest in manga or the Internet, and are instead using the place because of the low price relative to any of the competition for temporary housing, business hotels, capsule hotelCapsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
s, hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
s, or any other option besides sleeping on the street. It was also estimated that about half of those staying have no job, while the other half work in low-paid temporary jobs, which paid around 100,000 yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
($1000) per month - lower than what is needed to rent an apartment and pay for transportation in a city like Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Facilities
Some internet cafes offer free showers and sell underwear and other personal items, enabling net cafe refugees to use the internet cafes like a hotel or hostel.Cyber-homeless
Another word for Net cafe refugees is cyber-homeless, a JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word based on English. Typically, the cyber-homeless are unemployed or underemployed and cannot afford to rent even the cheapest apartment, which is more than the cost per month to rent an internet booth daily. The cyber-homeless may even use the address of the internet cafe on resume
Résumé
A résumé is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education...
s when applying for jobs to conceal their present form of accommodation.
The fee of 1400-2400 yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
for a night—which may include free soft drinks, TV, comics
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and internet access—is less than for capsule hotel
Capsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
s. Some cyber-homeless may also be freeters.
See also
- KamagasakiKamagasakiis an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in Osaka, Japan. became the area's official name in May 1966.-Geography:Sections of four different towns — , , , and — are collectively known as Kamagasaki.- Transport :*West Japan Railway Company...
- McRefugeeMcRefugeeMcRefugees is a neologism and McWord referring to those who stay overnight in a 24-hour McDonald's fast food restaurant.-History:The term was first created in Japanese language: マック難民. In Japan, most McDonald's restaurants are operated around the clock...
- Freeter
- SalarymanSalarymanrefers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
- HikikomoriHikikomoriis a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive people who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives...
- List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms
- NEETNEETNEET is a government acronym for people currently "not in education, employment, or training". It was first used in the United Kingdom but its use has spread to other countries, including Japan, China, and South Korea...
- Parasite singlesParasite singlesParasite single is a Japanese term for a single person who lives with their parents until their late twenties or early thirties in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life...
- TwixterTwixterTwixter is a neologism that describes a new generation of Americans who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt adolescence and adulthood. This Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single.-Behavior:...
- Boomerang GenerationBoomerang GenerationBoomerang Generation is one of several terms applied to the current generation of young adults in Western culture. They are so named for the frequency with which they choose to cohabitate with their parents after a brief period of living on their own–thus boomeranging back to their place of origin...
- FlophouseFlophouseA flophouse , doss-house or dosshouse is a place that offers very cheap lodging, generally by providing only minimal services.-Characteristics:...
- HostelHostelHostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...