Once the advertising displays from last Sunday's Mother's Day were taken down, the grim reality of being a mother in Japan returned. Over the last year, Japan slipped a rank in the annual Mothers' Index ranking of best and worst places to be a mother, according to the international nongovernmental organization, Save the Children.

Japan ranked toward the bottom of developed countries — merely 31st of 176 countries.

Though mothers are culturally revered in Japan, they have lower levels of education, political participation and income than in most other developed countries.