The construction industry is a major employer in Japan, and accounts for nearly 10% of all the employed persons in the country, but since the downturn in the economy it has been struggling. A lot of box men have worked as day labourers, receiving their wages cash-in-hand all their lives, but when jobs are scarce priority is given to the young and strong. They get no retirement package, and no pension either. Those that can register a residence, either legally or illegally, near a welfare centre can claim unemployment benefit, but there is often strict criteria that must be fulfilled. In Osaka it is necessary to work for 26 days over a period of two months, and to have a registration card stamped by the employer as proof. Another factor is the influence of the yakuza in the construction industry. They broker temporary construction jobs and offer day labourers the opportunity of work on often dangerous sites. These yakuza groups are seldom registered at the welfare centre, and so cannot give their workers the stamps necessary to claim for benefits or medical insurance.

For the last seven months Ogata Maseru, 47, has been collecting cardboard boxes everyday. His recycling wholesaler (tonyasan) pays ¥6 for one kilogramme of cardboard and he in turn pays ¥100 to rent the cart each day, but the pay differs slightly according to the wholesaler. On average he pulls two loads of about a hundred kilos everyday to make a grand total of ¥1,100. Ogata works between eight in the evening and nine in the morning for eight or nine hours. He's homeless now, but as yet he does not have a pan or other living utensils hanging off his cart. He still hopes to return to construction work, but for many others who have given up the idea of a regular life, their carts act as a mobile home. These men sleep in it or next to it, and at night build a fire in the road to cook their dinner.

Mr. X (name unknown), 67, is Osaka born and bred. He too was a construction worker, but for the last three months he's walked the streets with a cart because he has been unable to find work. He works from eight in the morning to nine in the evening around Dobutsuen-mae and Tennoji two runs a day for a total of ¥1,500. He doesn't need to pay rent for his cart, and is presently allowed to sleep above his recycling wholesaler's factory.

Not satisfied with the money he earns, when asked about his thoughts on Japanese society he replied, "None really. Well, there are good and bad sides to life in Japan and the people, but I never really think about it." However, he was indignant about how life in Japan has changed since World War II with the introduction of butter, chocolate and a lot of Western food. He grew up in prewar Japan and feels that modern Japan is incomprehensible to him. "Everything's Americanized," he said.

There are many other labourers out of work, collecting boxes who are dissatisfied with their incomes as well as the present job situation. With unemployment steadily rising in Japan from 1.6% in 1960 to 4.3% this year, and these figures don't include those who have not applied for work at the job centres, there is every indication that this group will become larger. In Nishinari Ward, day labourer protest riots figure prominently in the history of the area. The first was in 1961 when the workers torched a police box angry at the handling of a traffic incident in which a local labourer was killed.

There have been other cases of clashes between the police and labourers, and anger was triggered again in October 1990 when a police officer on an anti-organized crime squad was suspected of receiving up to ¥10 million from local Yamaguchi-gumi gang leaders.

Labourers are often decried for wasting their money on gambling or drinking, but for many it's difficult to get regular work, and the money often needs to last them till their next job or goes to their families. At present most labourers are lucky if they can make ¥12,000 a day unless they are skilled in carpentry or in some other field. In October 1992 unemployed labourers rioted in protest against the termination of emergency payments. The Osaka Municipal Government paid ¥2,000 per person per day for less than a month as special assistance for those unable to find jobs amid the economic slump, but stopped when the ¥7 million funds ran out. Between 700 and 1,000 people had benefited from this every day it was running, and were angry when the welfare stopped. Osaka is uniquely situated for this, since Nishinari has the largest welfare centre in Japan.

One journalist summed up the homeless in two categories: the first being those who society has rejected and "lack the personal abilities to get back on their feet", and the second as those that have chosen to reject society for "a quiet life, without being bullied by superiors and social conventions". But this analysis does not sit well with the box men, who act as a harsh reminder that society has failed them. Although charities provide food for the homeless and there are some shelters, awareness of the problem is not encouraged. There have been incidents in the past between school children and the homeless. One teenager remarked: "They make me really angry, because we can't play in the parks as they are sleeping there." The majority of residents either ridicule or fear and resent their presence. And yet aren't the box men making a very valid contribution to this society in which they have no voice?

To quote from Abe Kobo's book The Box Man: "...I've never heard that box men are being talked about anywhere. Evidently the world intends to keep its mouth tightly shut about them."


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