They are not your typical mums. With their gorgeous looks and to-die-for bodies, they are proof that you can be a mum and still rock. Look at J-Pop Queen Namie Amuro. At 23, she is the proud mother of a two-year-old boy, and juggling the demands of a career and motherhood with more success than ever. If anything, the birth of her child seems to have rejuvenated her.

Gone are the funeral rags she wore during the 1998 Red & White Song Festival (紅白歌合戦). Now, Namie re-invents herself as she pleases - sexy a la Jennifer Lopez one moment, or a Tokyo street girl the next, complete with dark make-up. With her hourglass figure, Namie is clearly the hippiest celebrity mum in Japan. But it has been hard work to stay at the top. When Namie took a year off to focus on her baby, others like Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki moved to the forefront of J-Popdom. But not for long. The queen of pop returned to reclaim her throne last year, with the multi-platinum album, Genius 2000.

Five years ago, Namie Amuro, at 18, was a teen idol like none other in Japan. Her wild-child stunts and her killer knee length boots are an iconic part of school girl fashion. Five years on, Namie has matured into a singer-songwriter. Rumors of a flirtatious husband have not destroyed Namie's faith in her marriage and she works round the clock to hold her career and her home together. she attributes her strength and her commitment to her son. After all she is not only a role model to her child but also to other mothers who see her as proof that they can have it all.

The power of the celebrity mother can perhaps be traced back to the rebellious sweetie-pie-turned-sex siren Seiko Matsuda, who broke the stereotypical image of maternity with her daring exploits. In spite of her husband's pleas to stay away from the entertainment business, Seiko insisted on going her own way. The message she sent to millions of Japanese women was that they can find fulfillment in many ways - not just as a wife or a mother.

In June last year, some of Japan's hippiest celebrity mums, including the likes of Chara and Ua, took centrestage in a special concert. Mother's Love, demonstrating that motherhood is a cause for celebration, not retirement. Motherhood certainly hasn't been an obstacle in the careers of these amazing J-Pop mums. Maintaining a young spirit is the name of the game. Perhaps Namie Amuro summed it up best when she was asked about the exact moment she realized she was an adult. Namie responded: "That moment hasn't happened, I'm still very much a kid."