Survey: Homeless population declining

The number of homeless people in Japan in January fell by 2,600 to about 13,000 from a year earlier.

The health, labor and welfare ministry believes that the main reason is the increase in the number of welfare recipients.

The ministry collected data on people sleeping in parks, roads and train stations across the country.

It found there were 13,124 homeless people in 474 municipalities -- 2,635, or 16.7 percent fewer than the same period last year.

It says they were concentrated in major urban areas.

Osaka prefecture had the highest number of homeless at 3,338, followed by Tokyo with 3,125.

The ministry says an increasing number of welfare recipients were able to find housing and municipalities are providing more temporary accommodation.

But it adds that the homeless population may exceed the figure in the survey, as this did not cover Internet cafes or cheap lodging houses.