Who is responsible for homelessness? From personal responsibility to structural injustice

Homelessness is a persistent global issue, often framed as a debate between personal responsibility and structural injustice. This case study examines the tension between these two factors, and how responsibility narratives may shape public and policy perceptions. To contextualize this analysis, we conducted interviews with city government officials and civil society personnel working on homelessness in two historical urban districts in Japan—Kotobuki, Yokohama, and Kamagasaki, Osaka—both former yosebas (day-laborer districts). Applying Young’s (2011) Social Connection Model (SCM), this study illustrates how systemic conditions contribute to homelessness. Although SCM highlights the structural nature of injustice, it does not fully explain why collective responsibility often fails to translate into sustained policy commitment or why personal responsibility narratives persist. To address this limitation, this study introduces the Collective Responsibility Avoidance (CRA) framework, which theorizes how responsibility is selectively affirmed, displaced, or withdrawn in political discourse and welfare governance.