Japan has recorded a historic milestone in public leadership as Mayor of Yawata City, Shoko Kawata became the country’s first serving mayor to take maternity leave, reigniting debate over family-friendly policies for elected officials.
Kawata, who became Japan’s youngest female mayor in 2023 at the age of 33, said she had always planned to start a family while in office.
She noted that “although Yawata City employees are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave, no such provision existed for the office of mayor. Her administration subsequently introduced a maternity leave policy for the position, setting a precedent for future elected officials.”
This development has attracted widespread domestic debate and international attention, with supporters describing it as ‘a step towards improving work-life balance and gender equality in political leadership.”
“I was very surprised myself to learn that I am the first mayor to take maternity leave. It made me realise that until now there simply haven’t been many young women, or women in general, who have become mayors,” Kawata told reporters at Yawata City Hall on Friday.
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Among her final official engagements before beginning leave was Friday’s street procession ahead of Yawata’s Taiko festival. Instead of riding atop the mikoshi (portable Shinto shrine) as tradition requires, the heavily pregnant mayor walked behind it.
Although Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister last year, women remain significantly underrepresented in Japanese politics. The country ranked 118th out of 148 nations in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Report and 125th in the political empowerment category.
Kawata said more “reforms are needed, particularly as Japan struggles with one of the world’s lowest birth rates. Under Japanese law, women are entitled to about 14 weeks of maternity leave and generally receive around two-thirds of their wages along with a birth bonus, while some government employees enjoy more generous benefits.”
“People talk about gender equality and work-style reform, but we need to build a society in which people, across all professions, including among those in leadership roles, do not hesitate to have children. Otherwise, I believe continual population decline resulting from falling birth rates, and the resulting economic deterioration are inevitable,” she said.
Kawata said she has received strong support from local residents and colleagues, who encouraged her to take maternity leave. However, she expressed disappointment over negative comments online following widespread media coverage of her decision. She is expected to give birth in September.
“People who had never heard of me before only learned about me through reports focusing on the maternity leave. Some people criticised me online, suggesting that I wasn’t doing my job and was just there to take maternity leave. That was disappointing,” she said.
Most Yawata residents interviewed by reporters backed the mayor’s decision. However, some questioned her receiving a full salary while on leave.
“I’m a woman, and I’ve given birth myself, so I believe that as a woman’s right, she should be able to take time off when giving birth. However, regarding her salary, I don’t really agree with her receiving 100% of it while she’s on leave,” Fujita said.
Reuters
