M AEBASHI -- While the intense summer heat continues in Japan, nearly 80% of single parents said they intended to refrain from using air conditioners to save money, and a majority wanted their ...

Today, there are 1.4 million single-parent households in Japan, 90% of them single mothers. Single mothers are among the "new poor": those who go unseen, forgotten by society.

Leaving the young to speed-date doesn’t seem to be working in Japan. Their parents are stepping in.

This photo provided by Japan Media Services shows a scene from The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan, directed by Rionne McAvoy.

Japan's parliament has passed a revision to the civil code, allowing divorced parents the option of joint child custody, effective by 2026, officials say.

Japan’s single parents struggle to raise children, survey finds. Osamu Murata (left), the acting chairman of nonprofit Ashinaga, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Wednesday.