When Kazuko Sakamoto found herself unable to conceive a child, she and her husband figured there was more than one way to start a family.
"It was my husband who first had the idea of becoming foster parents," Sakamoto recalled with a boisterous laugh.
"It was tough for me, with the fertility treatments and all," the straight-talking woman of 60 said. "That gave me a lot of sad moments, and seeing that, he felt that even without blood ties, we could make a family by bringing in a child from outside."