Read Big Issue Japan, Study Japanese

October 10, 2007 on 2:07 pm | In Language, Society, Tokyo | | Email This Post

Maybe you have seen a magazine called The Big Issue [Big Issue Japan] being sold on the streets of Tokyo, Osaka, or other big cities in Japan. This magazine is one of the study materials that I most consistently use to work on my Japanese.

The front cover of the Big Issue usually has a large and easily visible picture of some celebrities face, and, in Japan, it is usually being sold by a man standing at some crowded intersection in the city.

The Big Issue is an international organization that supports homeless people around the world. The magazine branch of their activities involves providing a way for homeless to earn money by selling the magazines on the street. Selling the magazines allows them to gain the responsibilities and self-respect they will need once they get back on their feet and into a more stable job.

In Japan you can get the magazines for just 200 yen a piece (the price will be raised to 300 yen within the next few months), and they can be found in places like Shibuya, or around Umeda station in Osaka. The magazine vendors purchase the magazines at a fixed price from Big Issue, and then sell them at the cover price, keeping any profit that they make for themselves. They chose when and where to work, so you need to keep your eyes open in order to spot it.

The content is really very interesting. Some articles are translated from the Big Issue English version, but most of the content is original to Japan. I pick one up whenever I see it, and meticulously read through the articles looking up any words I don’t know. The magazine is so inexpensive that I don’t feel bad marking it up with a pen while studying. It’s a great way to study, and I feel good supporting Big Issue.

If you see it around pick one up!

- Harvey

Learn more about Big Issue:

Metropolis Article: A newspaper gives Japan’s homeless a second chance

Article in BBC News regarding Big Issue’s release in Japan

Tokyo Weekender Article: Street magazine helps the homeless while stirring the public conscience

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7 Comments »

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  1. Gravatar

    Man, great idea - I’d do it in a heartbeat if I didn’t live so far away from a big city. As far as I can tell, there are no homeless people on my small fishing island. But still - great idea. :-)

    Comment by Deas — October 10, 2007 #

  2. Gravatar

    What a neat idea!

    I decided recently that the solution to homelessness in Augusta, Georgia is to put all the homeless people in nice business suits and have them sell stuff. Anything. Media, advertising deals, whatever. The reason is that these people are amazing at spinning yarns to convince you to part with your money. They just aren’t thinking big enough…

    Comment by Heather Meadows — October 11, 2007 #

  3. Gravatar

    Wow, I’ve been doing the same thing (reading Big Issue to study Japanese)! It’s a great way to learn the language, I’ve been reading since about January of this year.

    Comment by Chris — October 11, 2007 #

  4. Gravatar

    Chris! You are awesome! I just started reading maybe, 4 or 5 months ago. I’m a Big Issue Newbie.

    Honestly I had seen the mags around for a long time, but the cheesy celebrity pictures on the cover turned me off. The content itself is much more interesting than the cover makes them out to be.

    I guess the large celebrity faces are important to make the mags highly visible and recognizable to as many passerby as possible though.

    Deas - Yeah I don’t think you’ll be able to find them outside of Tokyo or Osaka, I guess they’re in Nagoya too (I’m sure there is a list of the cities covered on their homepage… I should check that).

    Heather! You should start handing out suits and iPods to all the homeless to get them started! Well. Maybe not iPods…

    Comment by harvey — October 11, 2007 #

  5. Gravatar

    whats the name of that electronic device you have in the background of that picture?

    Comment by Jamaipanese — October 12, 2007 #

  6. Gravatar

    That’s my baby. The Casio GW9600 dictionary that was mentioned in the interview with Sugu here.

    http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/09/21/jet-altcir-interview-part-2/

    It’s awesome. I love it. I have been meaning to write a review of it, but haven’t got around to it. Will soon!

    Comment by harvey — October 12, 2007 #

  7. Gravatar

    this looks like a awesome system. can we get that in the states?

    http://www.spymac.com/details/?2279293

    Comment by macboy — October 14, 2007 #

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