2/2/2013

The growing ranks of ‘McDonald’s refugees’ in Japan

Homeless, jobless forced to take refuge under Golden Arches
Asahi News | Jan. 31, 2013
Japan’s long-moribund economy has spawned a new breed of jobless and homeless people dubbed “makudo nanmin,” or refugees at McDonald’s.
Mostly in their 30s and 40s, they typically spend the night at a McDonald’s restaurant…for 100 yen over a cup of coffee.
Many of the makudo nanmin graduated from school during the employment “ice age” from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, joined the labor market as temporary workers and eventually lost their jobs.
More…

Image ripped-off from DannyChoo {sorry}.

I know quite a few of these “refugees”—contracted “code monkeys” who were at Hitachi but never hired full-time. Now if they have a short-term contracts at Softbank/Docomo/whatever, they sleep under their desk after midnight. Otherwise, they sleep at McDonald’s (or grandma’s farm) until they scrounge up their next subcontract and have a new temporary desk to sleep under.

Posted by Taro in Economy, General, Society | 2 Comments »

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2 Responses to “The growing ranks of ‘McDonald’s refugees’ in Japan”

1. TennoChinko Says:
   February 3rd, 2013 at 4:45 pm

   It’ll be a matter of time before one of those disillusioned 30-somethings goes on a stabbing spree and cites his generational woes as the cause. Then the issue will be discussed ad nauseum in the Japanese media.

   Related article here:

   http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20130115D14HH960.htm

   Tuesday, January 15, 2013
   Job Crunch Continues For ‘Ice Age’ Generation

   TOKYO (Nikkei)–People who graduated from university during the so-called “ice age for employment” a decade ago are still struggling in the job market, testifying to the dangers of a prolonged job crunch for younger workers.

   The ratio of job offers to job seekers among university graduates was stuck below 1.4 for about 10 years starting in 1995, when Japan’s long-term economic slump became evident. The ice age set in as businesses slashed hiring of new graduates.

   People who graduated from university during that period are the first generation in Japan that cannot marry and raise families with a reasonable assurance of secure jobs.

2. Taro 3Yen Says:
   February 7th, 2013 at 11:01 am

   Here’s a different kind of McDonald’s refugee…

   
   (cc) Yohei Yamashita on flickr

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