Talento Mukai Aki (41) and her husband, pro wrestler Takada Nobuhiko (44), had some good news at the weekend. Parents of twin boys born in the U.S. in November 2003 to a surrogate mother, they have been fighting in the local courts to have their children legally registered. The Tokyo High Court on Friday ordered Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward to accept the birth registration of the 2-year-old boys, overturning an earlier decision by the Tokyo Family Court. The Justice Ministry had taken the stance that to recognize Mukai’s parenthood would be in violation of the law stating that only a birth mother can be so recognized. In 2000, after six years of marriage, Mukai underwent surgery to have her womb removed following the discovery of uterine cancer. She has shown remarkable strength in the face of such adversity, appearing in televised press conferences several times. Commentators on today’s wide shows speculate that the High Court’s decision was strongly affected by Mukai’s medical history and may not be a simple precedent for future cases or lead to a change in the law.
• Deep Impact didn’t quite make the impact his trainer, jockey and fans had hoped for yesterday. Though he managed a respectable third at the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris, once again a Japanese horse failed to win Europe’s most prestigious race. Despite the late start (12:35 am Japan time), the race was shown live on NHK and hundreds of fans turned out at events nationwide to watch the broadcast. Ridden by Japan’s perennial champion jockey Take Yutaka, the 4-year-old was in the running right till the end, but was unable to put distance between himself and the rest of the field as he has done so often in Japan. The only horse ever to have beaten Deep Impact on his home turf is Heart’s Cry, the first ever Japanese-bred winner of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, and the pair will face each other again in the highly anticipated Arima Kinen race in December.
• Hamasaki Ayumi (28) and Nagase Tomoya (27) were hand in hand at Narita Airport yesterday on their return from Los Angeles. Pop diva Ayu spent three weeks in the U.S. in the recording studio and doing interviews, while Nagase joined her after finishing a tour with Johnny’s group Tokio on September 15. It’s been five years since they first revealed their relationship, and they’ve refused to speak publicly about it since.