This article traces the origins of the recent growth of homelessness in Japan to the following three structural changes that occurred in the 1980s in association with economic globalization: (a) a shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, (b) urban redevelopment, and (c) government policy shifts toward deregulation and privatization. The study indicates that a growing segment of Japan's low-income workforce has been subject to exclusion from employment, housing, and welfare.