The Big Issue Magazine goes on sale in Japan

OSAKA, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 16: Big Issue founder John Bird poses in front of a church where many homeless people gather on September 16, 2003 in Osaka, Japan. Bird has chosen Japan's second city of Osaka to launch the magazine because it has Japan's highest number of homeless. The number of homeless people in Japan has risen sharply over the past 13 years of economic stagnation, but the problem gets little attention from the government or the general public. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images) .