Condemned by economic forces and the prejudices of others to remain forever in the underclass, the homeless and day laborers in present-day affluent Japan struggle to survive in its cities. Japan's Underclass provides a poignant portrait of the conditions endured by these people. Whether they can find work at all, and the nature of any available work, determines their fate. The book examines men who die on the streets, the efforts of volunteers, officialdom's lack of understanding, and of passers-by pointing at these individuals to show their children where failure will lead. Japan's Underclass shows how it is not personal failure, but a variety of economic and life circumstances that has propelled these people into the underclass.