Suzuka and Nipa have adopted the all-black attire that is the unofficial uniform of the Toyoko Kids, the Japanese capital's tribe of young runaways.

Nipa arrived in the Kabukicho red-light district of Tokyo in January and was quickly taken in by the group. Suzuka arrived in April.

Like most of the girls in this loose-knit clan of a couple of hundred teens and 20-somethings, they have turned to sex work to get by.

Otherwise, they sleep on the streets or at friends' apartments.

When the weather is too bad, they club together to share a cheap hotel for the night.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Any leftover money goes toward cigarettes, alcohol and buying over-the-counter medicine that they consume in large quantities to deliberately overdose.

The craze for deliberately overdosing first appeared in 2022. In a raid on the Toyoko Kids hangouts in December last year, police rounded up 29 minors, with several found possessing multiple types of non-prescription medicines, authorities told local media.

There have been a number of fatalities across the nation among young people following the Toyoko Kids' example, often shared on social media.

Youth have died here in Kabukicho as well, the girls said.

The group of homeless youths........

© Deutsche Welle