Tent Villages

The tent villages that may be seen popping up in various provinces of Japan have a direct correlation to contentious politics. In this case the masses of laid off workers are making claims on the Government for a better standard of living. These villages are a result of the world economic crisis where many big companies are choosing to lay off semi-skilled workers in order to bolster profits. This situation is linked to labor deregulation laws which were put into effect in Japan in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The government claimed these laws would help the mobility of workers in a fast changing market, however; in reality it just became easier to lay off workers. After these laws it was mandated that workers cannot claim any health benefits until they have kept the same job for 12 months which is highly unlikely with the present job market. This group of disenfranchised workers is using a contentious performance to try to get the government to concede to their wishes. These villages are a result of a rapidly changing political climate where the income gap is increasing rapidly and these workers are not valued and therefore have no way to make a living. These villages seems like a very good means of social action as it is available to a wide audience including the international community.