OSAKA (TR) – The area known as “Gurishita” in the Minami entertainment district of Osaka City had been a popular gathering spot for young people, runaways and delinquents.
That was until just before April 13, the day of the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which is now taking place Yumeshima, about 10 kilometers away.
Just before the opening, Osaka City erected a 16.5-meter-long fence at a cost of approximately 16 million yen. It now cordons off the area under (shita) the Glico advertisement, from which Gurishita gets its name.
Hundreds of foreign tourists often fill the Ebisubashi Bridge over the Dotonbori canal nearby, which was one reason for the erection of the fence.
“During the Osaka-Kansai Expo, many people from both inside and outside the country are expected to visit Minami,” the city said. “As part of strengthening and raising awareness of environmental improvement efforts, we will prevent littering caused by people sitting under the bridge.”
According to TBS News (May 10), the move highlights the fact that the troubled lives of some young people in the Kansai area are going unnoticed.
Incidents
When the network visited the area for an interview in August 2022, when there were few tourists in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, many young people had gathered, complaining that they had no place to stay at home or school.
“I get beaten when I go back to my parents’ house,” one person said. “That’s why I ran away from home and stayed at my friend’s house. But I’ve never been reported missing.”
Many incidents involving these young people take place. Last month, Osaka Prefectural Police announced the arrest of three men for allegedly recruiting an underage girl from Gurishita and forcing her into prostitution.
Two months before that, police arrested a 59-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping a runaway high school boy and taking him to his home.
“I wish adults wouldn’t get involved with Gurishita anymore,” one young persons says. “We all know it’s wrong to gather here. But this is the only place we can gather. It’s really a place to belong.”
“Floating on the water”
Three years later, things are different. Since the installation of the wall, the scenery of Gurishita has changed completely. There are hardly any young people to be seen. One young person tells the network that they have moved about 400 meters away, to a place called “Floating Garden.”
“Probably because it seems to be floating on the water,” one young person says regarding origin of its name.
There are no foreign tourists in the area. It is quiet and still. For the young people here, each of them has their own complicated circumstances for what brought them to wander the streets.
“They’ve been abused, they have no place to go, they can’t go to school, they’re socially awkward and can’t get along with the other kids, they can’t study so they get bullied,” one young person says. “I wish [the city] would made a place for them to go instead of building a wall.”
After the reporter asks if the young people here will look for another place if a wall is also erected here, the young person says, “That’s probably it. Because they don’t have a place to go and they’re here looking for help, aren’t they? They’re not here just to make noise and cause trouble, they’re here looking for help.”
“If my drugs are confiscated, I’ll jump off a building”
The reporter notes that young people, both male and female, come to the Floating Garden one after another. The scene is the same as what the network saw three years ago at Gurishita.
The reporter notes that the police are already aware of the existence of the Floating Garden. However, no matter how many times the young people are taken into protective custody, they keep coming back. It’s a game of cat and mouse.
The reporter finds that several people are taking sleeping pills prescribed for insomniacs, which poses the risk of addiction.
“Aren’t your parents worried?” the reporter asks one person. “No. They’ve given up,” the person says. “I say things like, ‘If my drugs are confiscated, I’ll jump off a building.'”
The questioning continues:
Reporter: “Why did you come here?”
Young person: “Escaping reality. Overdosing is also escaping reality.”
Reporter: “Is there a reality you want to escape from?”
Young person: “Yes.”
Reporter: “What do you want to escape from?”
Young person: “I can’t live with normal people. I can’t live with the kids who go to middle school or activity clubs like normal.”
The reporter notes that this young person and one other has countless scars on their arms from self-harm.
“It’s very disappointing”
In August 2023, the “Gurishita Conference” was launched to consider youth support measures in cooperation with the government, police, local shopping districts, Non-Profit Organizations and others. So far, seven meetings have been held.
Noriaki Imai is the chairman of DxP, which is an NPO within the Gurishita Conference that supports young people. He tells TBS News that the government did not consult with them beforehand about the installation of the fence. Instead, it was suddenly thrust upon them in February.
“I was told that the decision had been made and would not be overturned,” Imai says. “It’s very disappointing. I think that if there had been discussion, there could have been more that could have been done. What is the point of having the Gurishita Conference?”
When the network asked Hideyuki Yokoyama, the mayor of Osaka City, to ask why Gurishita Conference was not informed beforehand, he did not answer. He said, “Since the management body [around Gurishita] will be Osaka City, proper maintenance is also important.”
