"The sewing machine goes rattle.
I'm making a dress."

"I love walking in flower fields."

"Oh, my dress now has a flower pattern."

- Attention. Roll call.
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

These women are prison inmates.

I have 3 kids. But because I'm here,

I couldn't be at their school entrance
or graduation ceremonies.

I felt really bad about that.

"So, so happy.
My lovely dress."

They are mothers separated from their children.

When I think about how they'll feel
once they find out why I'm inside...

I feel like I need to make it up to them
somehow.

Maybe storytelling can help me do that.

"For an active baby,"

"let me send this gift."

In this rehabilitation program, inmates record their voices to send to their children.

I wanted to give my child something that
shows my feelings for her.

But I ended up being the one
touched by the story.

Welcome home.

It's Mom.

I'm coming home.

The women serve their terms, then return.

We followed them over the course of a year as they sought to form new bonds with their families,

with the help of picture books.

The prison is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

It's operated by the government along with several private companies.

April 2022... The facility granted us long-term access inside.

About 480 men and women are incarcerated here.

Many are in prison for the first time, for crimes including theft and drug possession.

Hello.

Six inmates are taking part in the program.

Attention. Bow.

I'd like everyone to choose a nickname.
That's how we'll address each other.

Inmates are usually not allowed to have private conversations.

- My name is Ran. What's yours?
- I'm Yume.

But during the program, they are allowed to speak freely and address each other by their nicknames.

Let's try reading out loud.

No need to act. This is just so we can
listen to your natural voices.

Some of the women have never read a picture book before.

"Can I pet you, Mr. Dog?"

Good!
Ran, you're next.

"Sure, you can pet my back."

Did that sound like a nervous dog?
Or a relaxed, laid-back kind of dog?

Relaxed.

Yes, you made it sound relaxed.
Good job.

Look through these books.
Choose one you like.

My child is pretty big. A 6th grader.

- So, 12 years old. Boy or girl?
- A girl.

12-year-olds can go both ways.
Sometimes they want to grow up fast,

and other times they still
want to cuddle with their parents.

Try to find a book that would
appeal to both.

Can I choose more than one?

Of course.

I'll start with this one.

I wanted it as soon as I saw it.

It's filled with things I wanted to do
for my kids,

things I always dreamed of
doing with them.

Yuri is serving time for stimulant drug possession, among other offenses.

Her three children were between first and fifth grade at the time of her arrest.

She hasn't seen them in over two years.

These are my kids.

The police came and arrested me

right in front of them.

They sort of know why I'm here.

So I'm really worried.

Maybe they've become alienated from me.

The book she chose is titled:

"When I was a Baby."

"What's that?"

"It's a baby vest."

"Was that my vest?"

"Yes, just think how small you must have been."

A girl asks what she was like when she was a baby.

The mother answers her questions, one by one.

OK, let's give it a try.

Yuri reads out loud for the first time.

"Is that me, sleeping..."

"in that little basket?"

Yes. Lots of people came to see you and
sometimes they brought you presents.

So, what do you think?

It was my first time reading
a picture book out loud.

I was terrible. It's so difficult.

Can I ask a question?
The story finishes here.

-But I don't know how to end it.
-I see.

Yuri couldn't imagine how the mother would respond when the girl says she's not 1 anymore.

When the mother replies,
"Now you're three,"

think back to what your daughter was like
at 1 and 2.

"Now you're three."

You can do better.

The story doesn't end there.
The message is,

"I'll still be here when you're 4, 5 & 6."
Read it with that feeling.

Then the story becomes your own.
And you'll get the message across.

But that's difficult.

Well, don't you think this a good book?
That makes it worth the struggle.

Yes, thank you.

There's no right way to read a book.
You all have to find the answer within.

Some children don't have the chance for their mom or dad to read them a bedtime story.

The program is based on a similar one in Britain that has been running for 20 years.

The goal is to help inmates maintain ties with their children.

Can you make a sweet voice?

According to a survey, 97% of children who received a video said they feel close to the parent.

And most inmates said it improved their relationship with their children.

Forward, march.

In Japan, repeat offenders make up more than half of the incarcerated population.

The prison in Yamaguchi hopes the picture book program will help these people rebuild ties with their family,

and prevent them from committing crimes again.

"When I was a Baby"

Yuri is still struggling with the book.

"For a long time you only drank milk."

-"Didn't I eat apples?"
-"No."

Just a second. That sounded like
she was being scolded.

"No." Like that?

-I never used that tone with my kids.
-Really?

She's explaining, "Of course not, you had
no teeth." So don't use a scoldy tone.

How long ago was your daughter a baby?

- 9 years ago.
- Then go back 9 years.

When your baby girl had no teeth,

did she look weird or adorable?

She was cute.

Then say it with that feeling.

"No, because at first you didn't have
any teeth."

Go back to that memory.

That's the key to reading this book.

All I could think about was their faces.

It was like we were reading the book
together.

It made me want to see them.

I felt so much love.

At the same time, I felt pain...

and all sorts of complex feelings.

When I look back

I can only remember my kids crying.

I didn't want them to see me on drugs.

So I told them to go outside and play.

I kept driving them away.

I treated them terribly.
I said some horrible things.

I stopped being a mother.

I was only thinking about myself.
I hit rock bottom.

It's a process of gathering your sadness.

Instead of pushing away their despair
and hiding from themselves,

they tap into the power of a story,

internalize their sadness,
and make a new story.

Through this they find a way to
reconnect with their kids.

They think they're just reading a book.

But they're actually going back in time

and reliving their years with the kids.

Attention. Bow.

Ran, who is serving a sentence for drug possession, has a child in 6th grade.

"In an outdoor zoo, in a country not
far away, there was an orphaned lion."

"He was always trembling,
so his name was Trembles."

Ran chose a story about an orphaned lion,

and a dog who becomes his substitute mother.

A dog and a lion can't be a family.

But they really seem like one.

They have an amazing bond.

"One day, Trembles was sent to a zoo
in the city."

"He was separated from
his mother, Snuggles."

My mother was strict.

I was terrified of her.

For example, I'd come home from school,

and if I didn't hang up my uniform properly

I'd find my bag, uniform...

everything scattered all over the street.

She said, "If you can't put them away
properly, I'll throw them away."

To her, everything I said and did was wrong.

She said "no" whenever I spoke my mind.
Soon I stopped speaking out at all.

I used to wish someone would kidnap me.

I wanted them to take me away from home.

I wanted to run away from my mother.

I kept my feelings pent up inside.

I didn't have anyone to share them with.

I wasn't sure if it was OK to let them out.

The lion grew up to become a circus star and lived away from home.

One night, he thought he heard his mother's voice, and jumped out of the cage to see her.

"It's mother!"

"Trembles ripped open the cage with
tremendous force and jumped outside."

"Run, Trembles!
Like golden wind"

"Run, Trembles!
Like a shiny arrow"

"Run, Trembles!
With your flowing mane"

"Run! Run!"

-Who's saying this?
-I don't know.

What do you think, everyone?

Maybe someone watching?

- Or himself?
- Yes, that might be it.

So he's saying it to himself.

He's been on his own all this time.
He wants to urge himself on.

When you think about it like that, then it's
clear how that part should be read.

So I should read it like
I'm convincing myself?

That's not something I do a lot.

That kind of emotion is hard to express.

At some point in this program, they
always come across a part in a story

that they can't quite get.

They say, "Wait a minute. I'm stuck.
How am I going to read this?

Why is this person saying that?"

When a word nags at you like that,

it means something is stirring inside -
something you've been ignoring.

The shell you built around yourself
will start to melt away.

I tried to think if I had ever stood up
for myself like that.

Then I realized, I'm doing it right now.

I'm in a situation where I really need to
pull through.

Muranaka has worked with more than 70 inmates.

One of them told her something that has stayed with her ever since.

She said she found a mirror and that
she'll be OK as long as she hangs onto it.

She was able to get a good look at herself
through that mirror.

She realized the world hadn't
given up on her yet.

She found the mirror
in a book she chose for her child.

That made it all the more worthwhile.

"My doll likes going for a walk
in the park."

"Yes. Once you used to..."

That wasn't quite right.

"Yes"...?

Yuri is trying to figure out why she's having such a hard time reading the book out loud.

My kids used to ask questions, too.
"Why is this? Why is that?"

And all I'd say was,
"Yeah, yeah, right."

I didn't give them much attention.

I wasn't really listening,

much less trying to answer their questions.

Maybe that's why this is so difficult.

Yuri says she's always wanted a loving family life.

Her mother died when she was young, and her father was in and out of prison.

So she was raised by relatives.

I always felt restrained.

I was living with relatives
so I couldn't invite friends over.

I never got to celebrate my birthday,
I never got a present - not even a cake.

She started going out at night as a teen.

Her friends gave her drugs, and soon she was hooked.

Then, she got pregnant.

She was determined to create the ideal family life for her baby.

She stayed off drugs and devoted herself to raising the child.

I went out of my way to give my kids
everything I couldn't have.

I was particular about special occasions,
especially birthdays.

I filled the room with balloons,
invited friends over,

baked a cake and took tons of pictures.

The kind of life I couldn't have
but other people take for granted.

I went totally overboard.

I was trying so hard - too hard.

The mother in the story listens to
and answers every question,

telling her child what she was like as a baby.

I was so caught up with myself,
obsessing over superficial stuff.

Now that I look back on it,
I was only trying to please myself.

"And I made you a special birthday cake."

See? You can do it.

I want you to write messages

for everyone here
on these work sheets.

The inmates write words of encouragement to each other.

"To Momo
I hope your feelings reach your child.
From Yuri"

That made me so happy.

It made me want to try harder.

I felt warm inside.

It taught me to be kind to others, too.

When I was home,
I was always either drunk or high.

I was such a bad mother.

Being in here now,
it's the little things that make me happy.

I start to tear up
just seeing the beautiful sky

or some pretty flowers
when I'm outside for exercises.

That never happened before.

I've come to understand what happiness is.

I don't want to lose that feeling.

Who noticed the numbers?

That's the order of reading.
See the number?

Yume's 4th.

Ran is up first.

Good luck.

You've read it so many times.

I can tell from the pages
how much you practiced.

"Trembles ripped open the cage with
tremendous force and jumped outside."

"Run, Trembles!
Like golden wind"

"Run, Trembles!
Like a shiny arrow"

"Run, Trembles!
With your flowing mane"

"Run! Run!"

"In a snowy mountain outside of town,"

"Trembles found Snuggles,
ready to die of old age."

I looked back on my life and realized

I wasn't doing such a bad job after all.

At first, I didn't think much
about this picture book project.

But it has affected me so much.

The story found a way into my heart.

I'm so moved by the little things now.

I'm surprised.

I guess I never allowed myself

to see what I'm feeling inside.

Wonderful. Great job!

You did it!

Yes, somehow.

The emotion in the "Run!" really came
through. It was very powerful.

See what you can do?

I'm sweating all over.

OK, Yuri, your turn.

Come on, you can do it.

What am I going to do?

You'll do great.

Yuri is going to read her story.

My heart is about to stop.

"When I was a Baby"

"What's that?"

"It's a baby vest."

"Was that my vest?"

"Yes, just think how small
you must have been."

"Did I have a party when I was a baby?"

"You did when you were one."

"All your friends came to tea"

"and I made you a special birthday cake."

"I'm not one now!"

"No. Now you're three."

"I'm not a baby any more."

"Now I'm three, I'm big."

There's something I realized.

Kids probably ask questions
already knowing the answer.

When they ask, "Do you love me?"
they know they'll hear,

"Of course I love you."

But I couldn't say that to my kids.

All they want is to be together,

to be hugged really tight

and to have Mommy listen to them.

I don't know how to put it.

But I think that's what mothers are for.

Happy birthday.

The end.

Oh, no! I made a mistake!

No, no. You did great.

Well done! What an improvement!

My arms are sweating.

Great job.

It was really great.

Your feelings really came across.

I'm about to cry.

I've been ignoring my true feelings
and trying not to look back.

I avoided thinking about a lot of things.

But that's what I need to do.

I need to change.

Ultimately, the families get the final say on whether to let the children listen to their mothers' recordings.

Do they have to finish now?

Yes, they have 5 more minutes.

Let me help color that part.

I don't know what to do.

Yuri didn't know how to finish her design.

Don't give up until the end.

You accomplished a lot of things.

Don't compare yourself with others.

Don't think that others are better
or happier than you.

I have faith in you.
We won't see each other anymore...

but I'll be rooting for you.

Thank you.

This is the last session the six of them will do together.

What these women need is a mirror
to help them look into themselves

and they need to wipe it off from time to
time so they can keep seeing clearly.

Are you done? Good. Show us.

That's so cute!

OK, let's wrap it up.

Attention.

Bow. Thank you very much.

Six months since the program ended.

Yuri is being paroled.

I'm back.

Her father and stepmother came to pick her up.

Welcome back.
Look at you. You're so skinny.

Welcome back.

This is so tasty!

I'm so happy.

Hi, it's me. I'm coming home.

I got my act together.
I learned computer skills.

I can type the alphabet now.

I learned how to take notes, too.

I'm never getting back on drugs.

After her release, Yuri started living with her father and his family.

- It's "roomy."
- Yes, this is pretty big.

We're here.

Yuri's children are visiting.

They live with Yuri's ex-husband.

-Ouch!
-Stop that!

"Love," for "I love you."

Thank you.

For now, the children are only allowed to spend the weekends with Yuri.

It's been really tough.
Especially in the beginning.

We were crying all the time...

and felt so lonely.

Before Mom got arrested,

she used to be on the phone all the time
with the people she did drugs with.

She kept pushing us away and ignoring us.

She always put herself first.

But when we got the CD,

I realized she was thinking about us.

I thought, "It's from Mom
so I should give it a listen."

Stop hitting.

Hey, get off.

OK, take turns.

I don't expect her to be a certain way.

I just want her to be by our side.

Even now

when we stay over...

I don't really want to leave.

If she does drugs again and gets caught,
we can't see her anymore.

I'm worried about that.

But more than anything else
I want to believe in her.

There's a free spot. Lucky!

Yuri is hoping to live with her children again.

She's whining again.

Come here.

- You're not watching me.
- I am now.

- I'm being left out.
- Crying again? I'm here, aren't I?

What do you want me to do?

- Watch me do the monkey bars.
- OK, let's go over there.

Hey, that's really good.

But as she spends more time with them, she starts to worry.

I'm really amazed
that my kids are so good.

But what if I had been raising them?

Things might not have gone so well.

Seeing them thrive makes me anxious.

My older girl is in 7th grade. By then I was
already sniffing paint thinners

and staying out all night.

My ex-husband is raising them well.

Seeing how my kids are now,

I really don't want them to end up like me.

Maybe they should stay away from me
and have better influences.

Maybe it's better that way.

Three months after her release, Yuri started receiving welfare and moved into her own apartment.

But she was soon struck by a hard reality.

No company will give a full-time job
to someone like me.

It's a tough world out there.

There are only a few part-time jobs
that pay enough.

I realize I was too naïve.

Soon after, Yuri couldn't be reached by her family.

They worried she was back on drugs.

Ran, who read "The Gentle Lion," contacted us to say she'd been transferred to another prison.

- Hello, it's been a while.
- "Nice to see you again."

The illness came out of nowhere.

Do you want to see?

After the storytelling program, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It's been 2 weeks
since the second round of chemo.

The nausea is gone.

- "Are you feeling OK today?"
- Yes, I'm fine.

During occupational training,
I was baking bread every day. It was fun.

I wanted to do it as a job once I got out.

My plans were derailed.
That's the toughest thing.

She gets emotional support from her children's visits.

I hadn't seen them in 2 years,
and the youngest - not since my arrest.

She had grown so much.
I was shocked.

Her face looked so different.

Two years is a long time.

I was at a loss for words.

Just seeing their faces made me cry.

She has two more years to serve.

I promised myself to stay positive,
whatever happens.

I take on the challenges that
come my way, one at a time.

I have the program to thank
for this positive change in myself.

Yuri got in touch with us again after two weeks.

She says she's been splitting her time, holed up at home, or staying with her boyfriend.

A drug test came back negative.

"Welcome home, Mommy.
We love you."

I wasn't taking calls from my kids either.
I apologized when I saw them.

They were worried that
I had gone back to my old ways.

I felt so bad for scaring them.

During the program, Yuri poured out her emotions in her work sheet.

"Remembering my children's faces, smiling and crying, and recalling their words..."

"I was happy at times and pained at times, all alone in my cell."

"I never want to be away from them again."

"I will never make them cry again."

What I felt and wrote back then,

that was the honest truth.

I thought of what I did to them...

and how they must have felt.

I had nothing but huge regrets.

I vowed to never make the same mistake.
That's why I was able to write all that.

"I promise we'll be happier together next time."

I'm going to try to become a better mom,
little by little.

If I were still the old me
I wouldn't be here now.

But I know now what I value most,
and the people I never want to lose.

I've become a lot wiser.

Over the past 13 years, 82 people who took part
in the program have been released.

60 have not committed any further offenses
as of May 2023.

Yuri hopes to live with her children again soon
and is now looking at houses.

"I'm not one now!"

"No. Now you're three."

"I'm not a baby any more."

"Now I'm three, I'm big."