Tokyo Godfathers : Christmas Day, Three homeless people, & an abandoned baby... what could go wrong?

The Japanese film Tokyo Godfathers directed by Satoshi kon was first released December 29th, 2003 and has now been restored on March 13th, 2020. The film is about three homeless people named Gin, Miyuki and Hana. On Christmas Eve they find an abandoned baby in trash who Hana takes a liking to as she reminds her of her self and names Kiyoko. Soon after the three set off on a thrilling journey to find the mother of the child.

Let’s start off with Gin, he is a man in his late 40’s early 50’s. Early on in the film when they find Kiyoko he shares that he was previously a bicycle racer who was scammed by a con man. But, later when he reunites with his daughter also named kiyoko at a hospital where she works as a nurse we learn that what Gin said was a lie. And that He was actually a former bicycle shop owner who ran away from his family due to his large gambling debt.

This representation brings up the topic of gambling in Japan and how it affects its citizens. Gambling was illegal in japan while there were some exceptions such as horse, boat and bicycle racing. As well as a fan favorite amount Japan citizens called pachinko, those who play the game are allowed to turn their prizes into cash at pachinko parlors. However, pachinko isn’t labeled as gambling which very well might be the main culprit of the problem. Japan’s ministry of health, labor and welfare conducted a survey in 2017, the results were that roughly 3 million of Japanese adults are thought to suffer gambling addiction at some point in their lives. And another survey that was conducted a year before found that about 700,000 people exhibited behavior consistent with gambling addiction, and addicts spend an average of ¥58,000 a month on their addiction. And I suppose that having these small loopholes to gambling wouldn’t be so bad despite the survey results. But, in July 2018, Japanese lawmakers passed a bill that allowed casinos into the country allowing three casinos being in the form of integrated resorts. The focus on this decision is the creation of more jobs and tourists, but what about those with gambling addictions or at high risk of developing one? There are a few measures that’ll help assist in preventing gambling addictions such as showing the warnings of gambling addiction on television, newspapers, charging $57nto enter casinos and limited Only time will tell if those measures actually work but even with them in place the potential risk of people still developing gambling addictions has to stay a main priority. So just as Japan allows casinos to be built to contribute to its economic, they’ll have to build addiction treatment centers to help those who actually helped contribute to the economic by going to those casinos.

Next is Miyuki whose a teenage girl about the about of 16 – 18. She ran away from home because she attacked her father due to suspicion that he caused a stray cat that she took a liking to to disappear. After the attack she ran away and refused to go back home.

This brings up the topic of homeless women/girls and their relevancy. The representation and attention to homeless women is still very small, to find more information I had to really dig. I got lucky when I came across a book by Maruyama Satomi titled “homeless women in Japan” issued December 25th, 2004. Right on the money, am I right? The author talks about how the homeless is Japan aren’t simply called homeless people like in western society but instead are called “rough sleepers”. And for those who don’t know a rough sleeper is someone who sleeps on streets, parks, barns sheds, etc. Women do tend to avoid rough riding due to its potential dangers, so some women stay in welfare accommodations or are forced to stay in unfit households due to lack of alternative resources. It doesn’t help that the wage gap between men and women still exists which prohibits women from certain opportunities and ultimately their resources due to their income. Nevertheless, the jobs homeless women do obtain that help them are at restaurants, bars and hotels.

”Therefore, low-wage and unstable jobs in the service industry prevent working class women from sleeping on the street.” - Marauyama Satomi

And finally there’s Hana, Hana is a trans woman who was abandoned as a child and was raised by another homeless trans woman by the name of Mother. She worked as a drag singer at Mothers bar but left after attacking a customer that caller her an old fart. She has dreams of having children and being a mother and expressed that by saying, “…I always dreamed of being the mother of a little girl. A nice, warm house, a pretty daughter. Even if my husband was no good…I would accept dire poverty as long as I had my child.” She is determined to find kiyoko’s mother as she wants her to have a better life.

In the beginning of the film Hana says something that really struck me, she said : “ I am a mistake made by God” This quote and representation brings up the question of trans people in Japan and their rights. Gender identity disorder special cases act known as the GID was drafted in 2003 and forced in 2004, the act states that trans citizens must undergo forced sterilization for their gender identity to be legally recognized. Which is complete crap, and I’m not the only one that thinks so. Institutions such as world professionals association for transgender health and human rights watch have also acknowledged that the Japanese government needs to revise its gender recognition procedure. The sterilization process consists of invasive and unwanted surgeries, justified by an old law that labeled transgender as a mental health condition. Therefore, procedures involve mandatory psychological diagnosis, and the wait for appointments can take up to a year. Transgender citizens struggle to find work as they have to follow procedures before entering the workforce. The procedure requirements also force people to come out to their families when they aren’t 100% ready by making family health insurance mandatory. But, that’s not all because you also have to be single and without children under 20 years old which violates numerous UN human rights. Making it a point that the law doesn’t protect them against discrimination or gives them the same equality and freedom as others.

The law doesn’t protect them from discrimination or gives them equality/freedom. But, we all know Japan‘s law system isn’t the only system that doesn’t protect citizens that identify as transgender. So, if you ask me this is a very relevant global proble.

The representation of a man with a gambling addiction, a teenage girl, and a trans women in the film Tokyo godfathers brings up many topics in Japan that need to be discussed and solved, there need to be changes to accommodate those who are affected by these things.