News that a woman in her 50s has acted as a surrogate mother for her daughter and her daughter's husband underscores the need to enact a law governing how to legally treat children born in this way. The guidelines of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology prohibit doctors from engaging in surrogacy-related procedures.

But reality is leaping ahead of the guidelines. Advances in fertility medicine are likely to lead to an increase in the number of surrogate births. Legislation is necessary not only to avoid legal troubles but also to protect the welfare of children.

More than 100 Japanese couples are believed to have had children through surrogate mothers in the United States and other countries. Among them are TV personality Aki Mukai and her husband Nobuhiko Takada, a former professional wrestler, whose case has gained public attention because the case involving their twin boys is now before the Supreme Court.