A new survey by a nonprofit organization has found that about 40 percent of homeless people in Tokyo have had the experience of being attacked or threatened on the street.

The Independent Life Support Center Moyai, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Japan's poverty-stricken, interviewed homeless people and found that their conditions are made worse by the constant threat of cruel and violent attacks.

The homeless people interviewed were on average about 60 years old, but 40 percent of the respondents said the attackers were either children or youths, usually with at least two perpetrators. Some of them were assaulted with fireworks, steel pipes or other objects, while others were punched and kicked. They also suffered verbal abuse and threats, and often had their possessions set on fire.