Government finds 5,400 'Net cafe refugees' in Japan The number of "Internet cafe refugees" -- people who have no home and sleep overnight at places such as Internet and manga cafes -- has reached about 5,400, a government survey has found. The survey, conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, found that about half of the Net cafe refugees are people without steady employment, such as day laborers and temporary workers. Those in their 20s form the largest age group, followed by people in their 50s. The figures highlight employment problems that are affecting middle-aged and elderly people as well as those in their 20s. About 60,900 people stay overnight at Internet cafes every day, the survey found. More than half of them are customers using computers and other cafe services, but there are also an estimated 5,400 homeless people who stay overnight at the cafes for more than half of the week. Among those without homes, about 2,700 work but do not have regular employment. A total of 1,300 people are looking for work and 900 others are not searching for work. Another 300 people are regular company employees. By age, 26.5 percent are in their 20s and 23.1 percent are in their 50s. "There are cases in which people end up in a vicious circle, having no home because they have no work, and not being able to find work because they have no home," a ministry official commenting on the results of the survey said. The ministry polled all of Japan's 3,246 Internet and manga cafes for the survey, which was conducted by telephone in June and July this year. Responses were obtained from 1,173 establishments. (Mainichi)
