‘I didn’t expect it to be so controversial’: the Japanese mayor who took maternity leave

In many other nations, no one would blink an eye. But when Japanese mayor Shoko Kawata announced she was taking maternity leave, her decision made headline news, spawned opinion polls and sparked a national debate.

And that debate is still unfolding in Japan, ever since she revealed her decision in May. On Monday, she told the assembly in the western city of Yawata she was confident her deputy could run things smoothly while she was away.

An editorial that followed in the Mainichi newspaper supported her, saying that the onus was on the organisation to create a structure that supported change, adding: “Japan needs to create an environment in which people can take that leave as a matter of course.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so controversial,” Kawata tells the Guardian over a video call, “There’s still an idea that in work, people should sacrifice their personal lives in order to devote themselves to their career.”

Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy and a nation grappling with a depopulation crisis, does grant maternity leave for working mothers but the law does not apply to city mayors.

Kawata, 35, is the first incumbent mayor to take it. “I get the impression that many people online are just coming to terms with it,” says Kawata, of her move.

“For men, childbirth doesn’t physically affect their bodies, so technically it’s possible to continue working while pushing private life into the background,” she adds, “But for women, physically, that simply isn’t possible.”

In the most recent Gender Gap Report, Japan ranked 118th out of 148, the lowest out of G7 countries, in part due to outdated gender stereotypes, making Kawata’s decision even more significant.

To date, only 30% of councillors in Japan are women, and only 1.2% of them are under 40.

“Even though gender equality has improved in Japan,” she admits, “Women often struggle to reach leadership positions.”

A balancing act

At the age of 33, Kawata became Japan’s youngest female mayor, campaigning as an independent, on the agenda of improving childcare.

While she is not from a political family, Kawata was interested in politics from a young age.

“I was born after Japan’s economic bubble burst, and grew up hearing my mother speak about the good old days, which I’d never experienced myself. I kept thinking: why?” she says.

After majoring in economics at Kyoto University, she took a job as as a case worker in Kyoto city after graduating, later becoming a political aide, before being elected mayor in 2023.

In the three years since, Kawata has focused on using her skills to combat a problem prevalent across Japan: depopulation. In 2002, her constituency, one of the smallest in the prefecture, had a population of 74,329. As of April 2026, that number has shrunk to 67,876.

“I was always aware of Japan’s shrinking population,” Kawata remarks, “but when I took office, I really started to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.”

As this is the first instance of someone in her position taking maternity leave, Kawata is creating her own plan. Following the national standard, she plans to return to work by December.

As this is her first child, Kawata can’t be sure about what to expect, but she hopes her decision will inspire other women to get involved in politics in Japan.

“If more women are involved in leadership and decision-making,” she says, “We will be able to implement more social systems to support balancing a career with family life.”