Nakanishi Hitoshi currently sells The Big Issue Japan in Kumamoto City, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, a pitch that has existed for almost nine years. He credits the public’s support with keeping him going. Although life can be emotionally tough, it is vital to keep overcoming hardships and finding a way through.

This year’s Olympics arrives in Tokyo despite an ongoing pandemic and outrage from some of the city’s residents. Often those at the fringes of society are forgotten about when mammoth sporting events like this begin. The Big Issue Japan asked some of its vendors to share their thoughts on the approaching games and also their own personal sporting memories and achievements.

In October last year, coinciding with the World Food Programme’s ‘World Food Day’, The Big Issue Japan officially launched its new ‘night-time bakery’ project which not only creates work outside of selling magazines but also aims to reduce food waste. Since, it has gone from strength to strength.

The Big Issue took stock of how coronavirus is affecting the world’s homeless community, providing another update on just how severely the spread of the virus is impacting street papers and the people for which they provide an income.

Coronavirus – or Covid-19 – has spread to multiple countries with street paper representatives, including Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Italy. INSP is gathering information about how measures by governments and the medical community, and the reaction of the general public, are affecting street paper vendors in those locations.

Mr K. sells The Big Issue Japan from his pitch at Takatsuki station in Osaka and has been working as a vendor for three years. He credits his work with awakening his increased interest in the lives of others and giving back to the community. His dream is to return to his work as a chef and to open a restaurant that helps those in need. In the meantime, the happiness that he feels when he sells a copy of the magazine keeps him going.

To mark the end of INSP’s 25th anniversary year, we have been asking vendors across the street paper network to write a letter to their 25-year-old self. This is the final instalment in the #VendorLetters series, and features veteran Big issue Japan vendor Toshihiko Sakata writing lyrically about his life.

With a little over one week to go until we’re crowning our INSP Awards 2019 winners, today we’re unveiling the Finalists in one of our new categories for this year – Best Special Edition.

We’re introducing two brand new awards as part of the INSP Awards 2019 – the first of which is Best Special Edition. Here’s the Top 10 Nominees…

Staff from four Big Issue titles based in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia got together in Osaka for INSP’s first Asia-Pacific regional meeting, to talk and learn more about the unique problems facing each of them and the innovative projects they are involved in.

Tokuchika Nishi has lived an interesting life. The now Big Issue Japan vendor talks us through growing up in Kyushu, studying, joining the army and taking part in disaster relief, and finally returning to Tokyo where he became homeless. He also talks of his love of dance and joining the Newcomer “H” Sokerissa performance group.

There were days in the past when Naofumi Mima thought, “I’ve had it for today” and left. Selling The Big Issue is something that he hasn’t always found easy, particularly when he was faced with low sales. After some time away from being a vendor, he’s now back at work. Mima knows that for every bad thing that happens, something good might happen, too. He credits this attitude with bringing about an increase in his sales!

In collaboration with The Big Issue, vendors from street papers across the world have been sharing some insider tips on the cities they live and work in, which we are sharing during #VendorWeek. Here, Big Issue Japan vendor Susumu Hamada talks about Osaka.

2019 is well and truly underway, and the new year has brought with it an impressive array of street paper covers to cast the winter blues away!

This year we asked vendors: if you could give a song as a present this Christmas, what would you choose? The result was the INSP Vendor Playlist, which is now available for your listening pleasure. Teruo, who sells The Big Issue Japan, selects Japanese guitar maestro Masayoshi Takanaka.

As the festive season approaches and we prepare to open the first door of our advent calendars, time to take a look back at the street paper covers that have been sold by our vendors in 34 countries around the world during November.

With entries for the 2018 INSP Awards opening very soon, has February delivered us any potential winners in the Best Cover category?

The decorations are packed away, resolutions have been made (and already broken!), and the dieting has begun. This can only mean one thing…a new year – and a new batch of street paper covers – is upon us!

2017 saw Big Issue Japan vendor Makoto strike up a relationship with his fellow vendors, learn how to cook and become a more well-rounded person.

With Christmas just around the corner, street papers around the world have been getting into the Yuletide spirit and emblazoning their front covers with all things festive!

Time to reflect back on the unsung month of November, and the impressive bunch of street paper covers we’ve seen around the world in the past 30 days.

The witching hour is upon us, and has conjured up a month of frighteningly good covers to keep the spectres at bay.

The 2017 INSP Global Street Paper Summit kicked off on Monday at a welcome reception at Manchester Town Hall. After speeches from Lord Mayor Eddy Newman, INSP Chief Executive Maree Aldam and Chair of The Big Life Group Edna Robinson, we heard from delegates about what they expect from the week ahead.

Makoto was a truck driver before selling The Big Issue Japan, but work was hard to come by. “Before I took on this job, I thought it was just selling magazines,” he says. “I didn’t expect people would take care of me like this.”

Between Halloween and Trump, there’s a frighteneing vibe on this month’s international street paper covers. Thank god for Street Cat Bob…

There’s support from big name stars featured on this month’s covers – but also stark reminders of why street papers are so necessary for homeless people.

August’s street paper covers have the Olympic spirit, featuring ‘cuddly lawnmowers’, a homeless wedding, Steven Spielberg, and a cheeky little bit of rickrolling.

Soak up a summery selection of animal-mad street paper covers with pugs, wolves, chickens, seagulls and crabs – plus Pikachu and the fish star of Finding Dory.

Keiichi Egami has had quite the life, from working on naval ships, to computer programming. Now what does he look forward to most? “Selling The Big Issue Japan.”