Public Enemy
Sato Tomoko leads an ordinary life as a 40-year-old wife and mother with a part-time hourly job to supplement the household income. One day, she defies an unfair rule at her customer service job because she wants to help the customer, and is fired on the same day her husband loses his job. Tomoko is a high school dropout due to her family background, and has no certifications. How is she to get a secure job that pays enough to provide decent meals for Shun, her 5-year-old son? After her husband mentions find the high salary of city council members, Tomoko researches it on the Internet and learns that winning a seat on the council has a higher probability than getting a secure salary job. Inspired by the desire to earn a good salary, Tomoko decides and convinces her husband to withdraw their savings so she can run in the current election. While her rivals are endorsed by current politicians or come from families with elite backgrounds, Tomoko isn't intimidated for long, and decides she can be a voice for struggling working class families and fight the status quo that makes it difficult for Japanese women to work after becoming mothers. Todo Makoto, who comes from a long line of politicians and is also running for a seat on the council, hears her speech and is impressed. So is Hirata Kazumi, a former star political journalist at a newspaper whose daughter attends the same nursery school as Shun, is inspired by her energy and ability to unify people, and becomes her campaign manager.
