also: ネカフェなんみん
net cafe refugee; homeless person living in an Internet cafe
Refers to people, often working poor or those without stable housing, who stay overnight in 24-hour Internet cafes because they cannot afford an apartment. A social phenomenon in Japan since the 2000s.
See also: ネカフェ難民 (ネカフェなんみん)
The number of net cafe refugees is said to be increasing due to the recession.
Unable to pay rent, he lives as a net cafe refugee.
Standard kanji-katakana compound for this term.
Abbreviated form using ネカフェ for ネットカフェ; common in media and everyday speech.
Compound of ネットカフェ (Internet cafe) and 難民 (refugee). Coined in Japanese media in the mid-2000s to describe a growing social issue.