Kamagasaki

became the region's official name in May, 1966.

Geography

Sections of four different towns: Nihongo|Nishinari-ku Taishi|西成区太子, Nihongo|Haginochaya|萩之茶屋, Nihongo|Sanou|山王, Nihongo|North Hanazono|花園北 and Nihongo|Tengachaya|天下茶屋 are collectively known as the Kamagasaki region.

Transport

*West Japan Railway Company
**Osaka Loop Line: Shin-Imamiya Station
*Osaka Municipal Subway
**Midōsuji Line: Dōbutsuen-mae Station
**Sakaisuji Line: Dōbutsuen-mae Station
**Yotsubashi Line: Hanazonochō Station
*Nankai Railway
**Nankai Main Line: Shin-Imamiya Station
**Kōya Line: Shin-Imamiya Station, Haginochaya Station
*Hankai Tramway
**Hankai Line: Minamikasumichō Station, Imaike Station

History

Kamagasaki as a place name existed until 1922. Kamagasaki is known as Japan's largest slum, and has the largest day laborer concentration in the entire country. 30,000 people are estimated to live in every 2,000 meter radius within this region. An accurate count of occupants has never been produced, even in the national census, due to the large population of day laborers who lack permanent addresses.

The area surrounding Kamagasaki is very clean, and attracts tourists with popular sightseeing spots including the Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai, Den Den Town, and Festivalgate. However, in Kamagasaki, homeless people can often be seen sleeping in the streets throughout the day, and Nihongo|Doya|ドヤ hotels (cheap temporary homes intended for day laborers) abound in the region. These hotels have recently become popular amongst backpackers from outside of Japan due to their cheap price and close location to rail transportation.

Various non-profit organizations and religious organizations frequently give out food rations, creating long lines of people in public parks. Property values in Kamagasaki are noticeably lower than that of the surrounding areas.

Many Bōryokudan offices are located in the region, and drug and weapons trafficking is thought to be occurring on a daily basis. Illegal gambling stores are often in business in broad daylight. A seemingly endless line of illegally parked cars extends along the national highway just across from the Nishinari police station, and the police do not bother to issue tickets knowing that the fines will never be paid.

Notable Riots/Human Rights Protests

Several conflicts with the police have occurred in Kamagasaki since 1961 over perceived human rights violations by authorities. The mass media usually refer to these events using words which can be translated to English as "riot".

The first riot occurred on August 1, 1961, when an elderly day laborer from Kamagasaki was killed in a traffic accident. The regional official that arrived on the scene assumed that the man was already dead, (only doctors are allowed to pronounce a death) and left the body on the street for over 20 minutes without bothering to call an ambulance while he spoke with witnesses. A large group of day laborers surrounded the Nishinari police station in protest of the man's treatment, and overturned parked police cars and set fire to nearby apartment buildings. The Osaka Prefectural Police responded with a force of 6,000 police officers, using police sticks and vehicles to round up the rioters. It took two days to stop the 2,000 rioters; 28 of which were arrested. Approximately 10 rioters and 100 police officers were injured.

This riot became a national issue, and was taken up in both the prefectural legislature and national legislature of Japan. Several attempts were made to mend relationships between the groups, but minor riots continued to occur. In May, 1966, it was decided that the official name of Kamagasaki would be changed to Nihongo|Airin-chiku|あいりん地区 in an attempt to improve the region's crime-ridden image. The name Kamagasaki is still commonly used amongst inhabitants of the region, while the name Airin-chiku is used by the media and government officials.

The 22nd riot occurred in October, 1990, 17 years after the last riot in 1973. This riot also involved local day laborers, but grew in proportion when youths from outside the region joined in after hearing of the riot. Shin-Imamiya Station and other local stores were set on fire during this riot, and it took several days to calm the area.

The 23rd riot occurred in October, 1992. This was the last large-scale riot to occur in Japan before the 34th G8 summit.

The 24th conflict with the police occurred on June 13, 2008, and it continued six days. It was related to the 34th G8 summit. One day before the G8 Finance Ministers' Meeting started in Osaka with a very large police presence, a day labourer in Kamagasaki was allegedly tortured by the police. In protest against this, many day labourers and other local citizens carried out several days of street protests.cite news | first= | last= | pages= | language =| title=Resistance action against police in Kamagasaki | date=2008-06-17 | publisher=Indymedia Japan | url=http://japan.indymedia.org/newswire/display/4499/ |accessdate=2008-06-29] [http://www.skylife.it/application/html/732/singolo_mondo_73232.html Italian report] ] [http://www.generalunion.org/News/327 English report] ] . The mass media referred to the protests as a "riot".

Education

Nursery School
*Wakakusa Nursery School - 2-9-2 Haginochaya

Primary School
*Haginochaya Primary School - 1-11-15 Haginochaya
*Koji Primary School - 2-16-26 Hanazonokita

Junior High School
*Imamiya Junior High School - 1-8-32 Hanazonokita

Other School
*UNION Theology University Extension Study - 3-4-23 Haginotyaya

Events

*Kamagasaki May Day May 1

*Kamagasaki Summer Festival　August 13-15

*Twilight Concert

*Evening Variety Show

*Come Here Festival

*Energy Festival

ee also

* Tobita Shinchi
* Nishinari-ku, Osaka One of 24 wards of Osaka

References