Here in Tokyo, I see a lot of people sleeping in cardboard boxes outside. They've never bothered me; frankly, I'd prefer them to be there. It forces you to acknowledge their existence, and I'd rather they be there than in jail and being driven into a life of crime.

The odd thing is that you sometime run into Yakuza chimpira types who drag them by the neck and tell them to get lost (especially if there is a political rally going on nearby; go figure)