Last week, the health ministry decided not to recommend revisions to current guidelines regarding fertility treatments. This disappointed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been advocating the legalization of such controversial procedures as the use of surrogate mothers because they say they don't believe the government can restrict people's "right" to reproduce.
Coincidentally, Fuji TV aired a two-hour documentary on its Feb. 23 "Friday Entertainment" program about the saga of Aki Mukai, who last November became the mother of twin boys thanks to a surrogate mother in the United States.
More than 100 Japanese couples have so far used surrogate mothers in the States, though almost none have come forward publicly. Mukai would have found it difficult to hide what happened because she is a TV personality. In fact, she has encouraged coverage, with press conferences, a Web diary and three books chronicling her three-year ordeal. And as the Fuji program showed, Mukai has allowed cameras into her home and hospital rooms over the past two years to record the most intimate details of her quest to become a mother.