The holiday-season shelter run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government closed Jan. 4, and some 800 lodgers were taken to different accommodations to continue their hunt for homes and jobs.

Of the 833 idled workers who stayed at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center in Shibuya Ward, about 800 have not secured a job or place to live, according to the metropolitan government, which opened the temporary shelter Dec. 28 using central government money.

The lodgers were bused to capsule hotels and other facilities Jan. 4.

They can stay at the accommodations for up to two weeks while receiving consultations, according to Takeo Hayakawa, head of planning at the metropolitan government's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health.

"Two weeks is about the time needed to secure somewhere to live, a crucial step in ultimately finding a job," Hayakawa said.

The fate of the 800 beyond the next two weeks, however, remains unclear.