Miki Ando has become mother

I think Miki handled this whole situation badly. I am sorry, but at this rate she will be remembered as the skater who would not say who the father of her baby is as oppose to two time World Championship.

let`s talk wrote:

The recent Josei7 http://josei7.com/ says Miki went to the US two weeks ago to Morozov's rink where she again asked him to coach her. Unsuccessfully, for now http://twitpic.com/d7cdzm . Paparazzi also caught Morozov with Ilinykh between training sessions: http://twitpic.com/d7cfgx . The source close to Nanri says Nanri is the father of Miki's baby but her mom doesn't accept him because he is not a famous figure skater. She also doesn't accept this way to retire (to give a birth to a baby with such a man as Nanri). So she insists on Miki's participation in Sochi because that what she has been investing in since Miki's father's death. Then afther Sochi Miki can marry Nanri if she wants, according to Mom. http://twitpic.com/d7cetl

I hope the rumors about Miki's mother are not true. Otherwise, she is a control freak who is ruining her daughter's life. Is such behavior common among Japanese parents?

babayaga wrote:

Is such behavior common among Japanese parents?

Not really. The whole story around Miki and her baby is unique and very uncommon. That's why paparazzi are following her everywhere, that's why she hit front pages in papers and magazines. Because something very rare and extremely unusual happened and hapenning.

let`s talk wrote:

babayaga wrote:

Is such behavior common among Japanese parents?

Not really. The whole story around Miki and her baby is unique and very uncommon. That's why paparazzi are following her everywhere, that's why she hit front pages in papers and magazines. Because something very rare and extremely unusual happened and hapenning.

Thanks for clarifying. Poor Miki if all of this is true.

babayaga wrote:

let`s talk wrote:

The recent Josei7 http://josei7.com/ says Miki went to the US two weeks ago to Morozov's rink where she again asked him to coach her. Unsuccessfully, for now http://twitpic.com/d7cdzm . Paparazzi also caught Morozov with Ilinykh between training sessions: http://twitpic.com/d7cfgx . The source close to Nanri says Nanri is the father of Miki's baby but her mom doesn't accept him because he is not a famous figure skater. She also doesn't accept this way to retire (to give a birth to a baby with such a man as Nanri). So she insists on Miki's participation in Sochi because that what she has been investing in since Miki's father's death. Then afther Sochi Miki can marry Nanri if she wants, according to Mom. http://twitpic.com/d7cetl

I hope the rumors about Miki's mother are not true. Otherwise, she is a control freak who is ruining her daughter's life. Is such behavior common among Japanese parents?

I hope so as well. To force Nanri to publicly deny being the baby's father simply because he's not a "famous skater" is beyond ridiculous. I hope this is just tabloids trying to stir a scandal, because if true, if I were Nanri, I'd show my middle finger to Miki's mum. NO ONE would stand between me and my baby, especially the mother in law.
And I don't get why Miki must participate in Sochi, I mean, she's been to TWO Olympics already, so this really doesn't make any sense.
For Miki's sake I hope that this is just bunch of lies.

As for wanting to be coached by Morozov; I wish she'd move on and try someone else. She desperatly needs a coach. Her chances of going to Sochi are already very, very slim, Morozov is busy with others (and not that great of a coach anyway, IMO) so why insist on having him as her coach.  If she wants to go abroad, there are plenty of good coaches to choose from. I still think, that the best for Miki would be going to Cricket. Environment there is amazing, Brian is a good coach, Yuzu is there and Elene left for USA, so Brian doesn't have an elite female skater at the moment. besides, he's known to really bring the best out of skters who already have a solid jump technique, so she would really benefit from this, IMO.

I hope she'll figure out something soon, cause she's running out of time.

Tripleaxelqueen wrote:

I think Miki handled this whole situation badly. I am sorry, but at this rate she will be remembered as the skater who would not say who the father of her baby is as oppose to two time World Championship.

Yeah, I agree. I really wish she'd hire a profesional PR. This is really becoming messier by the day, not to mention there are some really nasty rumours circulating around. 

I don't get why Miki has to insist on Morozov being her coach while there're plenty of excellent coaches to choose from. Suppose she had revealed the identity of her daughter's father at the beginning, will she hit the front page like now?

It's her right to not disclose the father's name. We don't know what's really going on, and we shouldn't since this is her personal life. Maybe the father of the baby doesn't want to be revealed or maybe she decided it's the best thing for her and her daughter. Even if the father is a married man or even if it is Nanri, it's their own business. If it was me, I would have said I had the baby through IVF with an anonymous donor just to be left alone. She isn't a Hollywood celebrity to be followed so aggressively. She is an athlete who is trying to do what she loves the most. I don't care if she had an affair with a married man or even with a woman, for God's sake! Some people really need to get a life (and I don't mean to insult anyone here, I know we are all wishing Miki the best and have the best intentions, I am referring to the media and the other judgmental people who are bashing her).
It makes me sad to see her being dragged to this sort of dirty circus which now includes her mother as well. I am sure she is trying her best. My guess is that the real father ether doesn't want to be a public figure or doesn't want to have anything to do with the baby. The only truth we know is that this doesn't concern us, but only Miki and her family. I wish her the best in the world and hope she isn't too affected by all this craziness around her.

Lady_in_black wrote:

She isn't a Hollywood celebrity to be followed so aggressively.

She is a Japanese celebrity. Sort of. Single motherhood is a rare thing here even among common people (due to koseki tohon rules). So it might explain the meda attention to her.

Quote :

My guess is that the real father doesn't want to have anything to do with the baby.

Well, imo it could be the only excuse, if the word "excuse" can be applied here at all, why he still didn't stand up and say "I am the father."

zarinaballerina wrote:

I still think, that the best for Miki would be going to Cricket.

She is removed from JSF books, i.e. they won't pay for her. Have no idea if Miki or any skater can afford Cricket without the federation's support.

let`s talk wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

I still think, that the best for Miki would be going to Cricket.

She is removed from JSF books, i.e. they won't pay for her. Have no idea if Miki or any skater can afford Cricket without the federation's support.

Why did they suddenly remove her, weren't they suppost to wait and see how she was going to do in the upcoming season?

let`s talk wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

I still think, that the best for Miki would be going to Cricket.

She is removed from JSF books, i.e. they won't pay for her. Have no idea if Miki or any skater can afford Cricket without the federation's support.

Oh, I didn't know that. I think, unless you're very well off financialy, you do need the funds to cover your training there. I believe the first membership fee (for a new member) is 10.000$ I think it gets way less expensive after this. So if she doesn't have generous sponsors, I doubt she can afford it, especially now that she has to think about her baby as well. Or maybe she isn't even considering this option. Whatever her choice, I just wish she'd move on from Morozov.

ballerinamao wrote:

Why did they suddenly remove her, weren't they suppost to wait and see how she was going to do in the upcoming season?

I was thinking the same, but apparently JSF operates differently.

To those who are in the know, is Miki still interesting for potential sponsors/endorsments? It's going to be very difficult for her financially, if she doesn't have any funding, IMO. Figure skating is very expensive.

Actually, JSF didn't removed Miki from the list of skaters who receive special support from JSF.
Miki asked them to remove her name from the list in Jan. 2013. She revealed it in her facebook message back then.
Miki left Toyota as of Jan. 1 too.  The company offered to extend the contract another year even though she didn't compete in that season. But Miki declined the offer saying she wasn't able to fulfill the responsibility for the company because she skipped two seasons in row.

Miki used the same reason when she asked to be removed from the JSF list.

I don't think she really wanted to make this decision. But she had no choice because she knew she's expecting.

The new sponsor of Miki Katsuya Takasu of "Takasu Clinic" (specialized in cosmetic surgery http://www.takasu.co.jp/ ) attended FrOI backstage, where Miki btw brought Himawari: http://twitpic.com/dc1r1x

Meanwhile Josei7 reports that Nanri moved out of Miki's apartment. The source close to him says that Miki's mom insisted on it since now Miki is preparing for getting the spot in Sochi and therefore cannot be distructed by Nanri's presence. The mom said that she lost her husband long time ago and she knows how tough it is to be without financial support. If Miki doesn't get the spot in Sochi, she likely won't have any job in fs world, but fs is the only thing she knows how to do. Therefore she should focus only on sport preparation now. The source says that Miki and Nanri want to be together as a family, and for the sake of the child, but the mom says that Nanri can't take responsibility for the family since he doesn't have a full-time job. She says her conditions: 1. Miki must go to Sochi, 2. Nanri must get a job. Nanri currently rented a 30sq/m apaato (cheaper kind of apartment in Japan) in one-hour ride from Miki's living place. He works part-time in izakaya (Japanese-style bar) 5-6 days a week, not 3 days like before, and often comes back home after midnight from work, writes Josei7.  http://twitpic.com/dc1st3


If at least 1% of Miki&her Mom picturing is true, then it's just sick. I would have stopped reading all this stuff long time ago if it were not Nanri. I liked him as a skater and never heard any bad word about him as a person. Here the J-law is not on his side because it doesn't give an option for a man to be written as the father of his baby if he is not married to the mother. The only way out is to argue that the law is wrong, but after what I read, it doesn't look like Nanri has recources for long and fancy juridical procedure. So, I actually wish him to fall out of love with Miki and fall in love with someone else, whose family will treat him at least a little kinder. He already doesn't have the permanent access to the child since he is not living with Himawari anymore, and the situation doesn't look promising (I mean I don't really believe that Miki will go to Sochi, then what will her mother do/say to them?). He is young and handsome guy who deserves to be happy and treated with respect.

Here Miki at recent training: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=571109146282795&set=pb.391337110926667.-2207520000.1378173638.&type=3&theater

let's talk wrote:

The source says that Miki and Nanri want to be together as a family, and for the sake of the child, but the mom says that Nanri can't take responsibility for the family since he doesn't have a full-time job. She says her conditions: 1. Miki must go to Sochi, 2. Nanri must get a job.

I don't know whether this is true, and I have no clue whether this is normal behaviour for mothers in japanese culture, but in my opinion, Miki's mum should just butt out of her doughter's life and start minding her own bussiness. She is ruining her doughter's relationship with Nanri.

As for her saying that Miki MUST go to Sochi; Miki's mom of all people must know (or should've known) how hard it is to qualify for Oly's in Japan, especially in the current squad and in Miki's situation. I wish Miki all the best, but IMO, it will take a miracle for her to go to Sochi.

let's talk wrote:

Here the J-law is not on his side because it doesn't give an option for a man to be written as the father of his baby if he is not married to the mother.

Whaaat?!!!   Wait, are you saying that if a couple has a baby out of wedlock, the man isn't recognized as the baby's father and therefor has no rights over his own child?  If this is the case, then with all due respect to Japan (and I mean no offense) but it's a high time that the government moves into the 21. freaking century!  It takes two to make a baby, the father should have just as much rights as the mother, married or not. IMO.

A quick remark about the J-Law: The law does recognize the man as 'father' of the child even if the the couple are not married and for that, the man has to declare it. I have friends who are in the same situation, not married, live seperately, but have declared and are legally parents of their baby.
Now, in case Nanri is not named as the father of the baby on the paper, it is either because he didn't want to declare it or that the mother (or Miki's mom) didn't allow him to do so.

ddmm wrote:

A quick remark about the J-Law: The law does recognize the man as 'father' of the child even if the the couple are not married and for that, the man has to declare it. I have friends who are in the same situation, not married, live seperately, but have declared and are legally parents of their baby.
Now, in case Nanri is not named as the father of the baby on the paper, it is either because he didn't want to declare it or that the mother (or Miki's mom) didn't allow him to do so.

Thanx for explaining it further. It did seem too cruel to deny the father to recognize his own child, simply because he's not married to the child's mother.

This whole situation around Miki is so strange, I just hope this doesn't bite her in the butt big time.

zarinaballerina wrote:

Wait, are you saying that if a couple has a baby out of wedlock, the man isn't recognized as the baby's father and therefor has no rights over his own child?:

Any parent, a father or a mother, may affiliate his/her child out of wedlock. But it doesn't give the kid legitimate status. He/she is still deemed as born out of wedlock, takes the surname of his/her mother, written in her koseki (family register) and the mother cannot create one koseki with the father of her child. The only way when a child affiliated by his/her father can acquire the status of a legitimate is by the marriage of his/her mother and father. Legitimation of the child is an important issue under J-law. Untill recently an illegitimate child has a legal claim on only half the estate due his or her legitimate sibling. And it's only one of the examples. Things are changing but still there is a long way to go: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/vox/AJ201309060035

What happened to Nanri? I mean, what do not-so-well-known skaters do after they retire? Figure skating is a big part of their life, so I guess it must be hard for them to move on. Sorry for being dense, but why doesn't he become a coach or referee or technical specialist to have a more stable income?

^ He was a coach in Osaka. He left a job recently. I assume in order to live with Miki when they found out that she was pregnant.

let`s talk wrote:

^ He was a coach in Osaka. He left a job recently. I assume in order to live with Miki when they found out that she was pregnant.

Cant he find a skating related job in Tokyo?

Whoa! Looks like Miki will be at Nebelhorn later this month!

roma wrote:

Whoa! Looks like Miki will be at Nebelhorn later this month!

It's official on the organizer's website.

yeah its just released here!

http://www.eislauf-union.de/Miki-Ando-Japan-startet-Comeback-bei-der-Nebelhorn-Trophy_Newsdetail_212_kkdetail_view_news.html