With Mother's Day approaching, Oricon conducted an internet survey of 2,000 people to see which celebrity best matched their image of the ideal mother. Not surprisingly, popular actress Hitomi Kuroki was the overwhelming favorite, ranking first in all age and gender groups except among the 40-somethings, who preferred a mother more like Kaoru Yachigusa.

Nanako Matsushima was the second most popular choice overall, followed by: Masami Hisamoto, YOU, Kaoru Yachigusa, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Kumiko Okae, Mitsuko Mori, Mitsuko Baisho, and Shinobu Otake.