Poverty Business that use ‘poor girls’ are also emerging

This is the English version. To see the Japanese version, please click the button below.

First (Poor girls and Poverty Business)

We often hear the word, ‘Poor girls’ and ‘Poverty Business’ on the news and web site. In Japan, people who live below the poverty line receive help from the government by giving monthly allowance amounting to not less than 80,000 yen without rental room fee. Poverty Business organizations convince and lure these people to join, promising them accommodation, food, and other basic human needs. Since these people are homeless and they lack essential things to survive, they join without them knowing that this organization will take a big amount from their monthly allowance from the government. Poverty Business is defined as follows;

Poverty Business targets the poor and makes them stay below the poverty line without any escape. In that way, they can profit and earn through the poor people’s allowance.

The poverty Business is also defined as a business that profits from vulnerable people in society who are economically distressed. It targets homeless people who stay at internet cafes, contractual workers who stay at dormitories given by illegal companies, people who are on free or low cost accommodation and people who depend on consumer finance or black finance company.

Quotation：wikipedia 貧困ビジネス

Nowadays, poverty businesses that use poor girls are also emerging.

For more information about the article about poverty business which targets poor girls and my opinion, please click below link. 

Read this article too

貧困ビジネス　〜貧困女子「私たちは買われた」 colabo （１）

Question

You can hear a conversation between two people after you play the sound. Answer the questions about the conversation.

Sound 1

Conversation 1

Number of poverty business that targets poor people has been increasing recently.

Well. It has been increasing since that kind of work style has changed regular workers to contractual workers. Unfortunate parents who are below the poverty line have been increasing. Because of this, their children have no choice but to live and grow in such kind of environment. This causes chain of poverty. The situation is getting similar with the poverty problem in the Philippines, isn’t it?

Well. However, There’re many facilities and NPO corporations which help less fortunate people in Japan. I think they protect and assist them to have at least a decent living. Specially, the people under 18 who are not allowed to work yet can enroll to children’s nursing home.

We often hear the story about young girls who ran away from home and stay at internet cafes, earning money by `JK-business` and `dating with compensation`. Why don’t these girls enter the children’s nursing home?

Perhaps, they don’t want any bounds and want much money to buy whatever they want. In addition, they don’t know how to survive since they are also unfamiliar with the existence of such facilities and NPO corporations.

Question 1

1. Where can the girls under 18 enter？
A. Internet Cafe
B. Hotel
C. Condominium
D. Facility

Answer and Explanation 1

Answer：D
It’s mentioned that ‘the people under 18 who are not allowed to work can enroll to the children’s nursing home’.
A: This is where the girls stay at now.
B, C: They’re not mentioned.

Sound 2

Conversation 2

I heard recently that Colabo, is one of the organizations that support the girls. The organization provides food and room for free.

But the organization doesn’t earn money by themselves. They just ask company and Women’s association to give money. Besides, the member in the organization use the support money as the member’s living expenses. In the first place, as I told you before, there’re already children’s nursing home and NPO corporations. So, they should take the girls to such.

That’s true. The organization took pictures of poverty-stricken girls and has held exhibitions all over Japan recently. The title is “We were bought by men”.

They collect funds through sympathy from citizens. There’re many posts and comments on the bulletin board system that says `bought` is not the appropriate term to use, but rather `sold`. As a result, it hurts the young girls more who have been victimized by their parents and men. The situation was expected by the organization. The abusive posts have been widely spread. Even the Women’s association can’t think about the issue logically to support the organization because of their sympathy to these girls. So, I judged the organization as one of the poverty businesses.

Question 2

What was posted on the bulletin board system？
A. coupon
B. 20,000 yen without hotel fee
C. mental abuse
D. telephone number

Answer and Explanation 2

Answer：C
It’s mentioned as ‘The abusive posts’.
A,B and D are not mentioned anywhere.

Sound 3

Conversation 3

The organization encourages the girls to study to be able to get a high salary job in order to get out from poverty.

They don’t support them at all. They don’t teach the girls anything. In the first place, the member of the organization have no professional work history and special abilities, even them can possibly become less fortunate in Japan nowadays because of their lack of experience. So, they do poverty business by using poor girls.

I see. By the way, my job contract will expire soon. I couldn’t pay for the rental room fee if I start working as a part timer. But despite of that, I will never work at a night bar. So, I was thinking about entering the organization to get support.

You would live without inconvenience and don’t need to work anymore if you enter the organization. By the way, How old are you?

I’m 30 this year.

You can’t do that. You’re not a girl anymore.

Question 3

What will happen to Mariko soon?
A. Contract will expire
B. She will start working at cabaret
C. Enter the organization
D. She will be 20 years old

Answer and Explanation 3

Answer：A
It’s mentioned, ‘My job contract will expire soon’.
C: She was thinking about it, but not.
B and D are not mentioned anywhere.

Let’s talk more!

What do you think about poor girls and poverty business?
Let’s talk about it with your friend.
How is the situation in other countries?
Ask your teacher or a foreigner about it.

Example

1. What is the best way to support less fortunate girls if you meet them?
2. What do you think about girls who earn money by ‘dating with compensation’.
3. What do you think are the best ways for the girls who are below the poverty line to decline
4. What is your opinion about the existence of the organization despite the fact that NPO and children’s nursing home already exist?