About “The Big Issue”
Do you know a magazine titled “The Big Issue”?
This Japanese version of the magazine titled “The Big Issue” is in the fourth year. It is a magazine based on an international organization making homeless people to sell the magazines and supporting them to stand on their own.
You might have seen some homeless people selling this magazine in a big city or somewhere in a local town.
When I see these homeless people selling this magazine, I have decided to buy four of these magazines every time.
One for me, and the others, I will give to my friends and let them know the existence of The Big Issue.
“The Big Issue”, its business model has begun in London in 1991.

So, there are so many international actors and artists coming up at the beginning, and its articles are very informative.

For example, No. 77, this year’s August issue was about Angelina Jolie’s “creating the new Department of Peace”.

The next issue was about Bono of U2 talking about “The idea, innovation and the rise of social enterprise”.
The next one No. 79’s cover was Catherine Zeta-Jones, No. 80 Renee Zellweger, and No. 81Bon Jovi.
And No. 82 is featuring to Jodie Foster.

I think it is impossible to get this kind of weekly/monthly magazine that is using topnotch star for the cover of the magazines.
It’s because their guarantees are too high that it’s very rare for those super stars to be on the cover.
I think it is miracle that those world biggest artists are coming up on to the magazine. It’s all because, they all have a passion to support this homeless people’s project for free by themselves.
All the time, when I pick up this magazine on my hand, I am touched with these big artists special way of lives.

By the way, this magazines scheme of things in Japan is that The Big Issue Japan Ltd ’s Shuji Sano has organized and tried to support homeless people’s independence and tried to be reintegrated into society for four years.

“At first, some of experts said that I will be 100% failed, but I tried my best, and I did not really fail, but I did not succeed as well”
In these four years, 669 homeless people registered as the seller for the magazine in Japan.
I think its small, but in the same time very big thing that 58 people could have their own home to live.
In fact, I heard from an editor that it is very hard thing for those homeless people to encourage becoming independent with selling the magazines, I mean to let them become to the seller. Homeless people are often shy, so standing out in public and shouting out is very difficult hurdles to cross for them. So, they would rather be picking up empty cans alone. There are many people who would rather collect magazines alone. It is also big hurdle for them that they have to care about their clothes as well when they appear in public.
When we think about future of our Japanese society, there might be many people turn out to be homeless people because of their too long 35 years housing loan bankruptcy.
Those people who live in internet cafe everyday, they also might become homeless when they can’t keep their lives.
So, it is very valuable to try to succeed in this big issue project in Japan as a safety-net of our society.
It is very terrible that we will lose our imagination and sympathy for other people’s lives in out from our spider hole lives.
The Big Issue is special material as we can see those big artists beautiful willing expression when we check this The Big Issue magazine, and so that we can feel their big beautiful scale as a human.
From November, this magazine will be selling at 300yen, and 160yen from it will be the seller, the homeless person’s income.
So far, the organization of big issue was having 90yen, and homeless persons were having 110yen, but recently it has changed this way.
This mount might be bit high, but I really hope deeply from my heart that even more of people will get interested in buying this magazine on a street corner.
And so, let’s hope our heart that we can make many people sell this magazine, and end up for these homeless peoples homeless lives as many as possible.

Big Issue Fund non-profit organization
http://www.bigissue.or.jp/