Being homeless is different in Japan than it is in North America. Professor Tom Gill, a social anthropology professor who has lived in Japan for 25 years cites several reasons why "it's a lot easier to deal with homelessness" in Japan: less drug abuse, institutionalizing mentally-ill people rather than letting them suffer in the streets, and no traumatized war veterans. Also he says that homeless people in Japan rarely beg, and people in Japan rarely give to the few people who do beg.
This video is from "Life Where I'm From," a Patreon-supported effort to create documentary videos about Japan and the World.