[Anchorman]

For some years now, the darling of the Japanese sports world has been Ai Fukuhara. A ping pong prodigy since grade school, Fukuhara is a fierce competitor who became famed for her vocal "SAAA!" interjections as she slams the small white sphere over the net.

At the tender age of 15, Ms. Fukuhara was a member of the Japanese table tennis squad at the Athens Olympics.

Last April she matriculated at Tokyo's Waseda University and has settled into campus life, leaving less time to pursue ping pong.

"She was ranked 12th among female players worldwide, and tops in Japan," a sports journalist tells Shukan Taishu (10/1). "She was expected to gain a slot at the Beijing Olympics, but nearly didn't compete in the elimination rounds and now her rank in Japan is only 12th.

"For that reason, some resentment has surfaced and the media has started to run negative stories."

The latest story going around is that people living in neighborhoods proximate to the Waseda campus are opening their mailboxes and finding flyers for an underground DVD being circulated, the title of which is "Ai Fukuhara -- Shot Secretly in the Buff."

But is it really Ai Fukuhara? It's hard to be sure, because the eyes are concealed by a black strip. But the shape of the face is definitely similar.

"The video shows her trademark straight hair style and arching eyebrows," says a Waseda freshman who purchased a copy. "I saw her in person at our matriculation ceremonies, and this sure looks like the real thing to me."

For such a product to make it to market would not be surprising at all. Japanese female athletes for a long time were regarded as rather dumpy and masculine. But of late some real beauties have emerged, such as figure skaters Shizuka Arakawa and Miki Ando, to name just two examples. And at the same time, video cameras have become so ubiquitous that hardly a woman in the country is safe from exposure -- despite laws that provide for up to two years in prison and fines of up to 2.5 million yen for those convicted of exploiting people's privacy by peddling porn.

Whatever the identity of the young woman seen savoring a steamy soak, Shukan Taishu's reporter objectively observes she's got a lithe and luscious young body. The first things that float to the surface, specifically, are a pair of nicely formed, uh, things, tipped in slightly darkened pink, that can comfortably conform to a C-cup. Spirited and sprightly, without the slightest suggestion of sag. A tight, tapered tummy. Willowy waist. And, as the camera soon reveals, a plushly piled pubic pelt.

Then, as this lovely lass paddles across the pool, a dorsal view gives a glimpse of bulging, bouncy buttocks, with a distinctive mole situated at a spot where only an intimate male acquaintance would be familiar.

"If this DVD's the real thing, it's going to be a real shock for Ai," says a sports reporter. "At a world competition earlier this year she complained she was having trouble concentrating because her skirt-type uniform showed too much skin, and refused to wear it. She's modest."

After an intense debate in Shukan Taishu's editorial room, it was finally decided to approach a reviewer of underground videos for an expert opinion.

He watched the nude scenes, brow knit in concentration for several seconds -- and then his eyes flashed in recognition.

"This is exactly the same video as the one from several years ago, of (singer) Mai Kuraki, that was secretly shot at a hot spring!" he proclaims. "It made a big splash at the time. Definitely the same one."

"But come to think of it, it really does look a lot like Ai-chan," he adds. "I guess some sleazy producer got the idea he could repackage it and make a bundle off the girls' similar appearance."

Whoops! Looks like it was no more than a case of mistaken pornography. A tongue-in-cheek Shukan Taishu apologetically expresses its hope that Ms. Fukuhara will burst forth with another loud "Saaa!" and "show her stuff" for us once again -- that concluding remark made in an intentionally ambiguous manner. (By Masuo Kamiyama, People's Pick contributor)