Tokyo Turnaround on Britney Spears Poster  8/25/06

A poster showing a naked and pregnant Britney Spears is no longer banned from Tokyo, Japan's subway system after officials decided it isn't "too simulating" for young people after all.

The picture, from the cover of the August (06) edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine, shows the singer naked, but protecting her modesty by covering her breasts with her arms and crossing her legs at the knee.

Tokyo Metro bosses had ruled the poster too rude and a threat to the nation's young, but in a turnaround they now accept its intention is not to be sexually explicit but to show a happy mother.

The poster was to go on show censored below Spears' elbow, with a statement that reads, "We apologize for hiding part of a beautiful image of a mother-to-be". However, it will now be displayed uncensored as originally planned.

Metro spokesman Tatsuya Edakubo says, "Our earlier request to cover the photo from the waist down was because of nudity, not because we had anything against pregnant women."

The snap of Spears will appear in the Japanese edition of Harper's Bazaar in October (06), and is backed by a large advertising campaign across the country.

Spears and husband Kevin Federline are expecting their second child in the autumn (06).