Inu wo Kau to Iu Koto (2011)

The Hongos are a family of four who live at the foot of the nearly completed Tokyo Skytree. Hongo Yuji who gave up his dream of music which he had pursued since his student days, now works in human resources at a machinery manufacturer. To put it in a good way, he is earnest, but in truth is a coward unable to take risks. All the words that come out from his mouth are idealistic arguments. Because of the wave of recession, his job is to tell staff older than him that they have been dismissed as a result of restructuring. It is a difficult role but he tells himself with resignation that it is his work. However, before long it is his turn to be told that he has been laid off. His wife, Sachiko, had taken advantage of her pregnancy to marry him. Now the mother of two children, she juggles several part-time jobs and works non-stop to earn money for the family. They are at their wits end. The family has hit rock bottom and is on the brink of collapse. Then one day, their daughter, Mako, picks up an abandoned pomeranian puppy which they name Skytree. This small incident is a big matter to the Hongos, and this broken family gradually begins the road to recovery.