The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan — A Review

A documentary capturing the struggle of single parents who live in poverty in Japan

From the moment I saw the trailer for Australian filmmaker Rionne McAvoy’s documentary The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan, I was curious to learn more. The state of poverty and being a single mother in Japan is something that I am aware of but haven’t understood very well.

As a young woman living in Tokyo, I am privileged to currently be in a position to work and have the support of my partner and family, yet I have had the thought — “that could be me”. It could be many of us. Perhaps we all know some single mothers or parents who may have struggled or are currently struggling, and that made the documentary all the more powerful to watch.

The film weaves together true stories told by single mothers, and commentary from expert contributors including Temple University’s Dr. Jeff Kingston, Prof. Yanfei Zhou of Japan Women’s University, and Dr. Greg Story, as well as the perspective of support organizations for single parents including Heart Full Family Foundation. McAvoy helps us see the bigger picture by including Japan’s post-war history, the evolving concept of the family unit, and the societal barriers of bureaucracy and shame of being a single parent.

I was surprised to learn about the state of poverty in Japan. Dr. Story reminds us that the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) defines the poverty line of a nation as “a state at which the income of a household is at or below half the median household income.” Dr. Kingston shares that according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, “over half of single parents live in poverty in Japan”, with “nearly 1 in 7 children living in poverty in Japan”. Professor Zhou tells us that “Compared to other countries in Europe, the biggest characteristic of Japanese single mothers is that they are in poverty despite the fact that they are working full-time.”

The women in this film share deeply personal aspects of their lives, showing their courage and strength to be vulnerable in the safe space that McAvoy has created. They have experienced many challenges, for some, it includes domestic violence and abuse, and for most, it includes financial distress, isolation, and a lack of support network. Given the minimum wage in Japan is only just topping ¥1,000 this year, we can see how much of an issue this is with rising inflation. It’s also alarming to hear how difficult it is for single mothers to access information about support and welfare, and that fathers are not held accountable for child support.

There are several moving scenes at a ‘kodomo shokudo’ or children’s cafeteria which provides free food for children and an opportunity for parents to take groceries home at a low cost. Mai Yahata, a single mother and worker at Honkouji temple which houses the cafeteria, tells us that some parents don’t have enough to pay for a bag of rice for their families.

If mothers are working hard and doing their best to support their families, yet it’s not enough to break the poverty line, there must be something else we can do. While no social issue is ever too simple, I felt like the film was certainly a call to action — for viewers to talk about the problems, for groups to advocate for better support for single mothers, and for local and national governments to provide greater assistance and reform.

The Ones Left Behind is a captivating documentary that aims to shine a light on a very real and yet little-discussed topic of single mothers and child poverty in Japanese society. I felt moved and compelled to talk about the issue and would like to thank Rionne for distilling 18 months of filming and, likely more, of research, discussion, and story-telling into this documentary. I recommend anyone who is living in Japan or curious about modern Japanese culture and society to watch this film.

Other references:

• Survey: Almost half of homes with one parent live in poverty by The Asahi Shimbun (July, 2023)
• Japan minimum wage target exceeds 1,000 yen for first time by Nikkei Asia (July, 2023)