YAWATA, Kyoto — The mayor of a small Japanese city has become the first sitting mayor in the country to take maternity leave, a decision that has drawn criticism at home while attracting international media attention.
Shoko Kawata, mayor of Yawata, a city of about 69,000 people in Kyoto Prefecture, said she had planned to have children when she became Japan’s youngest female mayor in 2023 at the age of 33.
She said that while 16 weeks of maternity leave are guaranteed for Yawata city employees, no such protocol existed for the mayoral position, forcing her to create one.
“I was very surprised myself to learn that I am the first mayor to (take maternity leave). It made me realize that until now there simply haven’t been many young women, or women in general, who have become mayors,” Kawata told Reuters at Yawata City Hall.
One of her last public duties before proceeding on leave came on Friday, when she took part in a street procession ahead of Yawata’s Taiko festival. Rather than riding atop the mikoshi, or portable Shinto shrine, as tradition dictates, the heavily pregnant Kawata walked behind it.
While Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister last year, the country’s gender gap remains particularly pronounced in its male-dominated politics. Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s most recent gender gap report and 125th in the political empowerment category.
Kawata said significant room for reform remains, particularly if the aging country hopes to improve one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Japanese women are legally entitled to about 14 weeks of maternity leave, typically paid at about two-thirds of their wages plus a birth bonus, though some government workers receive better terms.
“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 most local residents supported her decision and colleagues had encouraged her to take the leave, but she was disappointed by online criticism that accompanied the extensive media coverage. Her baby is due in September.
“People who had never heard of me before only learned about me through reports focusing on the maternity leave. Some people criticized 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 Reuters said they supported Kawata’s decision. Others, however, including local resident and homemaker Chie Fujita, took issue with the mayor receiving her 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.