Over 5000 ‘net cafe refugees’ in Japan
‘Internet cafes and “manga” comic cafes are omnipresent in urban Japan, offering couches, computers, soft drinks and comic books to stressed businessmen or commuters who missed their trains home.
But a government survey found that an estimated 5400 people have virtually moved in to the 24-hour cafes.
It said some 80 per cent of Japan’s “net cafe refugees” are men and that 52.7 per cent said they decided to live in the lounges because they lost their jobs.
Another 13.8 per cent said they moved into the net cafes because of deteriorating relationships with their families, according to the survey by the health and welfare ministry.’
