Ota’s story is derived from my documentary on post-war orphans in Japan. Born in Northeast China, Ota worked as a factory worker. After returning to Japan, he faced discrimination in Japan due to language barriers, compelled to engage in manual labour. Floating amid the waves of Northeast China layoffs, Japan’s repatriation, the 3.11 East Japan Earthquake, the cessation of post-war orphan recognition, the outbreak of COVID-19, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ota struggled to break free from the fate of being the working class. Despite escaping Northeast China, he couldn’t evade unemployment within the floods from the era; identifying himself as Japanese but embodying Chinese thinking totally, Ota returned to Japan with his family but finally faced its dissolution. These twists of fate deeply moved me.