Housing First in Tokyo: Rethinking the Complicities between Housing First and Neoliberalism

Abstract

Housing First is a support project aiming to provide immediate residence to chronically homeless people in developed countries around the world. Housing First follows the principles of unconditionality, which do not impose any requirements on homeless people, and is often considered an extraordinarily innovative initiative compared to past policies. However, Housing First has been criticized for its complicity with neoliberalism. This study aimed to reconsider this complicity by critically focusing on three dimensions of neoliberalism: ideologies, governmentalities, and policies. Our reexamination of the Housing First government initiative in Tokyo indicates that the concepts of homeless-zero, self-responsibility, and cost reduction have indeed demonstrated complicity. Furthermore, this study explores an alternative method of supporting homeless people based on the innovative logic of the Housing First initiative that avoids complicities and identifies Housing First as a social movement for the homeless in Tokyo. This study reveals circulation, dialog, and universalization as essential for the radical Housing First social movement.