Sleeping on the street is already tough. But last year, when the government's emergency ¥100,000 handout for all residents failed to reach most homeless people, one such man in his 70s, living in Tokyo, felt even more left out.

Now, a year later, that same resentment has been reignited as he experiences similar difficulties accessing the COVID-19 vaccine.

“With no certificate of residence or identification, I know I can’t get the vaccine even if I wanted to,” he said, as he was handed a portion of curry and rice at the Missionaries of Charity Brothers soup kitchen in Taito Ward on Tuesday morning.