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Here in Japan I have never seen nor heard of anyone being asked for money. You see the homeless at the stations and in the parks, but they keep to themselves. They feel as if they are an embarrassment to Society because they failed in some way to make their life work. I don't think they would take money if you offered it.
The train/subway stations here are full of buskers, even in fairly small towns. They never have any sign/hat/open instrument case/etc. implying that they are looking for money. They are usually younger people hoping to be discovered.
The only "begging" for money I've seen here is the occasional Buddhist monk. They will stand in a non-obtrusive place in the station and chant their sutras, quietly, for hours while holding a wooden bowl in one hand, the other raised in prayer. They don't move or make eye contact, even if you drop in some coins.
Things may be different in the big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, but even when I've visited there, I've never seen panhandling. I don't miss it.
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The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference.
"God made man, but he used the monkey to do it." DEVO
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