A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking
Shoko Kawata, the 35-year-old mayor of Yawata, a town south of Kyoto, announced in May that she would be taking maternity leave. She will be off for two months before and two months after her mid-September due date, making her Japan's first-ever mayor to take maternity leave. Kawata stated, "I was so surprised because the reaction was so big."
As there is no legal framework for local elected officials to take time off for babies, Kawata will not be taking official maternity leave. Instead, she is assigning Shigeto Nose, one of her deputies, to temporarily assume her role. While everyone at work, where the average age is 39, was supportive, public reaction was divided, with some calling her decision "irresponsible" and others praising her for setting an example.
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A Japanese mayor's decision to take maternity leave has sparked a national debate about elected officials and childbirth in a country struggling
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