Big Issue Japan: Saving the Homeless

A few years ago, I happened to work with a big-name musician and once, we had a moment alone together in the same room. I felt a bit nervous and didn’t know what to say really – until I remembered that in my very own bag was a copy I picked up in Shibuya of “Big Issue Japan,” a magazine sold by homeless. Actually before, after five years of silence, his legendary band had chosen the Big Issue for an exclusive interview — instead of the major music press! Meanwhile the musician was still a bit sullen. Well, that was until I reached into my bag and passed him the mag saying “Did you know that we have the Big Issue here in Japan too? You did an exclusive interview with them before…” He seemed a little bit puzzled, started to flip through the pages and finally uttered with a smile “That was in 1994!” After this anecdote, we take a look again at the Big Issue Japan which is celebrating their fifth anniversary this September. Time for PingMag to talk to Miku Sano, the general manager of their Tokyo office.

Written by Chiemi
Traslated by Natsumi Yamane

First, can you please tell us a bit about Big Issue?

The Big Issue is a magazine that started in London. Originally it was established by founders John Bird and the Roddicks of the Body Shop, who tried to bring over the system of magazines being sold by homeless in America. They thought if they could make a magazine that was purely interesting to read, rather than a magazine people just buy to support the homeless, then that would kind of work out as a job. That came at the time when the British streets were full of homeless who lost their jobs after the privatisation wave by the Thatcher Administration.

And Big Issue Japan was founded in 2003, right?

Yes, that was when people increasingly lost their homes in Japan too. It was also the year when the government did their first ever research on homelessness and their report showed that more than 30,000 people were living on the streets already. So we looked for something we could do to help improve the situation and that’s when we found out about this magazine and decided to start it in Japan too.

How does the system of the Big Issue Japan work?

Big Issue Japan is a limited company that makes magazines to be sold by the homeless. Many of them who come here for the first time don’t even have money to make a purchase, so we ask them to register as a vendor and then offer them the first ten copies for free. The magazine’s retail price is ¥300 per copy, so if they manage to sell everything, they would have ¥3,000 left. Next, we ask them to make the next purchase for ¥140 per copy, and the remaining ¥160 will be their income. After that, it’s up to each vendor: Some people come and purchase ten copies every day, others buy in bulk and return when they have run out of stock.

“There’s a job you can start straight away.” A flyer recruiting vendors.

Do people who want to become vendors simply turn up in your office?

Yes. We have flyers that we leave in places where homeless sleep at night, so recently we’ve had many who come to us after they’ve seen the flyers or people who have been taken to us by another vendor.

How many registered vendors are there currently?

In the past five years, approximately 770 people in total have registered with us. Right now there are around 120 people from their 30’s to 70’s — and apart from a couple, they are all males.

Does it mean that those people who cancelled their registration have managed to get off the streets?

Some have managed while others couldn’t carry on doing it. Most of the homeless were day labourers, so they have little experience in sales and, moreover, they have to make the fact that they are homeless open while they are working. Our staff offer supports for the first few days, but if you can’t sell the magazines once you are alone, then you are really stuck. But if you manage to carry on for around a month, then you get used to it yourself and gradually start building relationships with the customers. Then you start thinking “Let’s stick at it for another day!”

How about the content of the magazine?

The top interviews are usually from overseas, but more than sixty percent of the content consists of original topics from Japan. As for overseas topics, Big Issues from other regions and the database of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) which is a network for organisations with similar systems as Big Issue, provide us with free contents too.

In the U.K., some celebrities give exclusive interviews in support of your activities. Does that happen in Japan as well?

In Japan, we haven’t been able to get any exclusive interviews yet. However, Japanese rock band Bump of Chicken, who doesn’t appear in the media often, once gave us an interview. They also introduced us on their website and kindly allowed us to sell the magazine at their concerts. That lead to a very big profit!

What a wonderful story! Last year, you raised the price of the magazine from ¥200 to ¥300. How is it going since then?

It was really difficult immediately after we raised the price, but the sales are recovering again now. Until then, the vendor’s profit was ¥110 per copy. So for the vendors in the capital, food was all they could afford even if they sold 20 copies. But now, they can earn ¥3,200 by selling 20 copies, meaning they can stay at cheap accommodations and eat properly with more chances of getting off the streets. That also raised the vendors’ motivations and contributed to the sales increase.

What are the responses of the vendors?

Many have admitted that it’s the customers that keep them loyal to their selling posts. Warm passer byers bring a wave of encouragement by offering food and drinks as a way of saying “Good Luck”. The readers who are faithfully present on the first day of the new issue also help tremendously to keep their tenacity alive. Homeless for different reasons, and isolated from society its become an accepted part of their lives that people will never speak to them, much less acknowledge their presence, as their home is on the streets. A step toward a life that is warmer, kinder– a life with something we all consider to be essential–communication, the sale of this magazine is providing the very portal needed to make such a drastic transition!

I never knew that just exchanging a couple of words would encourage them so much… Lastly, what’s next for the Big Issue Japan?

Our goal is to make a quality magazine so that the vendors can sell them with pride and to provide vendors with better support in gaining control of their lives and help them work positively.

Thank you very much, Miku! You can meet the vendors at stations like Yurakucho, Yoyogi, Tamachi, Shinagawa, Akihabara, Gotanda, Meguro, Ebisu, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Takadanobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro, Okachimachi, or Roppongi in Tokyo. If you see one with the Big Issue Japan, please take a copy and have a chat!

15 Comments

1. Great article on a magazine with such a fantastic cause that’s helping the, sadly, growing number of homeless around the world!

   Posted by: stewy on August 27th, 2008 at 7:19 pm

2. wow this is so nice! Very nice article, really love it! Thanks for sharing!

   Mark

   Posted by: Q5 Webdesign on August 27th, 2008 at 8:10 pm

3. I’m surprised! I often see this magazine being hocked outside JR Osaka station but I never imagined the vendor was someone down on his luck. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

   Posted by: feitclub on August 27th, 2008 at 9:32 pm

4. [...] good lighthearted article from [...]

   Posted by: Big Issue Japan | .craig on August 27th, 2008 at 10:15 pm

5. I usually buy the Big issue from that guy alyways standing outside Waterloo Station on the overpass(London). He’s a nice guy and its always good to have something to read on my lunch break. (Normal magazines are just too expensive and filled with advertising)

   Posted by: Luke on August 28th, 2008 at 1:48 am

6. very nice and informable interview . thanks . selling a magazine like the big issue is very useful for getting a life . i hope we can work more to encourage people to buy this magazine and to decrease number of homeless people .

   Posted by: lady parvati on August 28th, 2008 at 1:48 am

7. I love these magazines! In Brazil, we have “Ocas”, which is also sold by homeless. There is a person who sells this magazine right at the door of the university that I attend. It was amazing to see him grow, day after day, with his job. He now sells the mag in a suit - totally in biz! -, which he bought with the money he earned. God bless these mags! :)

   Posted by: Aroldo on August 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am

8. Yes - Buying The Big Issue is a wonderful way of helping out. I live in Cape Town South Africa, and I from time to time I write stories for the magazine (I am a journalist). It is great to hear when people move on, from the streets to a proper job. My regular vendor has had that luck. I miss her, but I am happy that she could move on.
   Cheers,
   Miriam Mannak

   Posted by: Miriam Mannak on August 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm

9. Gah! Just remembered that I wanted to pick up an issue in London earlier this summer… Saw it being sold once, thought I’d get one later, and then missed it altogether. The same thing happened four years previously, too. :(

   Posted by: Kristine on August 28th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

10. [...] PingMag - Big Issue Japan: Saving the Homeless - interesting article about the Japanese version of The Big Issue. Of particular interest is the way different homeless magazines like Big Issue UK and Japan syndicate their content around each other. Something to think about in terms of PR ROI [...]

    Posted by: renaissance chambara | Ged Carroll - Links of the day on August 29th, 2008 at 8:04 am

11. They should franchise/syndicate this to Toronto. It’s much better than the sad/depressing newsprint pub Outreach that is sold here. I’d buy one every week!

    Posted by: gbchapman on August 30th, 2008 at 8:14 am

12. Luke: HAHAH, I can hear that guy from the office block nearby when I am in the toilet. He seems much nicer than the dancing woman down by the main entrance, she is quite rude!

    Posted by: Badger on August 31st, 2008 at 7:09 am

13. Great article. Thank you.

    Posted by: A. on September 1st, 2008 at 11:20 pm

14. [...] public links >> big Big Issue Japan: Saving the Homeless Saved by uiworker on Tue 28-10-2008 Things don’t go quite as smoothly after the Thursday’s [...]

    Posted by: Recent Links Tagged With "big" - JabberTags on October 30th, 2008 at 8:19 am

15. [...] where the original Big Issue was founded by John Bird and the Roddicks of The Body Shop in 1991. Japan started its own arm in 2003 and has even branched out in publishing a book by the [...]

    Posted by: The Big Issue: A magazine that helps the homeless in Japan | Tokyo Metblogs on January 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pm

• Similar Articles
• » No related posts

• Share and Enjoy:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• Audium: See With Your EarsCategory: Music Technology Worldwide
  August 25, 2008
• RYOONO: The Tenderness Of Garden VegetablesCategory: Events & Exhibitions Fashion Illustration Japan
  August 22, 2008
• Commercial Craze: Moving Signs In Tokyo And OsakaCategory: Japan
  August 21, 2008

As of December 31, 2008, PingMag and sister site PingMag MAKE are both on extended hiatus, and will not be updated for the foreseeable future. We are eternally grateful for your fantastic support over the years.