FUKUOKA - At night, Kego Park in central Fukuoka becomes a gathering place for youth with nowhere else to go—teenagers and young adults who have lost their footing at home or in school. The area has come to be known as "the Kego scene."
On any given evening, boys and girls as young as 12 can be seen in the park, drawn not by events or entertainment, but by the comfort of being among others facing similar struggles. Some are skipping school, some have been away from home for weeks, and many say there’s no point going back. One 15-year-old girl, whose mother remarried after two divorces, said she no longer feels like she matters: "Even if I'm there or not, nothing changes."
An anonymous survey conducted among 216 young people in the park revealed harsh realities. One in three had engaged in drug overdoses or self-harm. One in two had thought about dying. Over 40% said they had stayed away from home at least once; 55 respondents said they had been gone for more than a week. The main reasons cited were domestic issues such as abuse or overbearing family control.
Trying to address this isolation, Ryo Onishi, an associate professor at Shujogakuen University, holds monthly "Street Health Rooms" near the park’s entrance. These sessions offer counseling and a place to talk. "Many of them are weighed down by feelings they’ve kept bottled up. Once they find someone willing to listen, they open up and start to share," said Onishi.
NPO leaders like Kurako Fujino, head of the organization AMU, are also on the ground. Fujino began outreach after noticing that many out-of-school youths were unable to form connections through traditional services. She has since spent over two years building trust with young people in the area, one of whom is an 18-year-old named Rui.
Rui, who grew up in a care facility after suffering domestic violence, had lived alone but was overwhelmed—his room filled with garbage, utilities cut off, and emotional instability showing in acts of self-harm. When police approached him in the park, he lashed out. But with Fujino’s help, he slowly found a path back. "I felt like there was no point in living," he said. But together they cleaned his apartment, restored utilities, and gave him the stability of a home again.
"Having somewhere to go makes a difference," Rui said. "If there was no one to rely on, I probably wouldn’t be here." Fujino added, "People only learn by stumbling. What matters is staying connected—even as they move forward and backward. In the end, the direction they choose has to be their own."
For Japan’s vulnerable youth, one adult who doesn’t walk away can mean the first step out of the dark.
Source: FBS福岡放送ニュース
