Condemned by economic forces and the prejudices of others to remain
forever in the underclass, the homeless and day laborers in present-day
affluent Japan struggle to survive in its cities. Japan's Underclass
provides a poignant portrait of the conditions endured by these people.
Whether they can find work at all, and the nature of any available work,
determines their fate. The book examines men who die on the streets, the
efforts of volunteers, officialdom's lack of understanding, and of
passers-by pointing at these individuals to show their children where
failure will lead. Japan's Underclass shows how it is not personal
failure, but a variety of economic and life circumstances that has
propelled these people into the underclass.