OSAKA -- A municipal government plan to build temporary shelters for homeless people living in a park that will host next year's East Asian Games has received heated criticism from area residents, who have gathered over 22,000 signatures in protest.
Over the past three years, Nagai Park, a 65-hectare facility that includes a stadium and other sports facilities, has become a haven for homeless men.
Local residents blame the increase partly on an ordinance, passed in the mid-1990s, which forced residents to separate burnable and unburnable trash. The homeless collect bottles and cans, of which there is an abundance in the park, and exchange them for cash at a recycling center.