service, according to Excellence's head Yuji Sasaki. In 2006, a doctor enabled a 61-year-old woman to carry the child of her daughter who was unable to give birth herself after cancer treatment. "The procedure was performed at the Suwa Maternity Clinic by Yahiro Netsu, a long standing supporter of surrogacy procedures. In a statement issued to the press, it said: 'The clinic hopes that Japan will hold forward-looking discussions on surrogate births and that it will take place in Japan without abuses.'" In light of this procedure, "then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the issue of surrogacy is 'very difficult' and Sanae Takaichi, state minister for gender, equality and population has said that 'the discussion is highly welcome, but it is extremely difficult to judge whether surrogate birth can be encouraged.'" In 2008, Manyi Yamada was born using donated eggs, the sperm of a Japanese man Ikufumi Yamada, and an Indian surrogate mother. Yamada and his Japanese wife divorced before Manyi's birth and the latter withdrew her consent to adopt Manyi, which left Yamada's application as a single father unlikely to be accepted. An Indian child welfare charity Satya petitioned unsuccessfully to gain custody of Manyi, claiming that "'they have violated Indian laws by not signing a surrogacy agreement and taking custody of a child abandoned by its mother.' The Japanese Justice Minister, Okiharu Yasuoka, indicated to reporters that he would consider granting Manyi a visa but that the legality of the birth was something that would need to be addressed in the near future. 'Whether to permit surrogate pregnancy is a matter to be discussed by respective institutions...The ministry will study the possibilities under the law out of consideration for the child's future.'" Ultimately, the Indian Supreme Court granted custody of Manyi to her grandmother Emiko Yamada. "The son of a wealthy IT entrepreneur, Mitsutoki Shigeta attracted controversy in 2014 after Thai officials raided his flat in Bangkok on the of suspicion of human trafficking and found at least nine babies, nannies and a pregnant woman." He was quoted as saying 'The best thing I can do for the world is to leave many children,' and as hoping to father between 100 and 1,000 babies. "The case, which became known as the 'baby factory' scandal in the press, cast a spotlight on Thailand's surrogacy industry and the Thai government shortly afterwards introduced a ban on foreigners from paying