Living on the Streets in Japan: Homeless Women Break Their Silence

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Homelessness has been recognized as a serious problem in Japan since the 1990s, but the dominant model of a “homeless person” has been that of an unemployed male laborer—a model that has largely excluded women, who experience homelessness in different forms. This study gives the homeless women of Japan a voice at last. Based on extensive fieldwork, the author paints a vivid picture of the unique experiences of homeless women living in a diverse range of environments. By introducing a gender perspective to the analytic framework and challenging the conception of the homeless individual as a rational, autonomous subject, the author invites a critical reconsideration of homeless studies and of public policy.