The japanese labor ministry will conduct its first survey ever on the living conditions of day laborers with no fixed residence who stay at Internet cafes overnight, ministry officials said Thursday.

The japanese labor ministry will conduct its first survey ever on the living conditions of day laborers with no fixed residence who stay at Internet cafes overnight, ministry officials said Thursday.

Experts say the customers, dubbed "Net cafe refugees," are becoming more visible in the 24-hour facilities in tandem with the rise in the number of "working poor," those who have jobs but cannot escape poverty. The issue has become a high-profile social problem despite public denials that the gap between rich and poor is growing.

Some of the cafes provide individual cabins with computers and reclining chairs, as well as cheap meals. A customer can stay overnight for 1,000 yen to 2,000 yen, which is cheaper than capsule hotels.

The Japan Complex Cafe Association, a group of Internet cafe owners, estimates there are about 2,800 of the facilities nationwide.

Read more here (The Japan Times)