Japanese mayor Shoko Kawata surprised by controversy around her maternity leave

Japanese mayor Shoko Kawata's decision to go on maternity leave has left people of the country shocked. While this is common among women in most other countries, in Japan, a mayor has never taken such a break from duties. This has led to a nationwide debate and even opinion polls discussing whether it is feasible for a mayor to be out of office for such a long time. Kawata revealed her decision in May, and on Monday, told the assembly that her deputy was capable of running things smoothly while she was away. Despite the reactions to her decision, Kawata stands by it, saying that giving birth is different for men and women, as their bodies are so impacted that they just cannot continue to work right after having a baby.

Meanwhile, she found support in an editorial in the Mainichi newspaper, which called on the organisation to create an environment where "people can take that leave as a matter of course." Kawata told The Guardian that there is a perception that "people should sacrifice their personal lives in order to devote themselves to their career." “I didn’t expect it to be so controversial,” she adds. “I get the impression that many people online are just coming to terms with it,” says Kawata.

Maternity leave in Japan

Maternity leave is provided to working women in Japan, but mayors do not have a legal right to it. Kawata is the first incumbent to do so. Notably, birth rates have drastically plummeted in Japan, with Elon Musk even saying that "Japan will eventually cease to exist" if the birth rate does not exceed the death rate soon. Outdated gender stereotypes have contributed to the low birth rate in the country.

Japanese mayor Shoko Kawata

Kawata is only 33 years old and Japan’s youngest female mayor. She won as an independent, and her primary agenda was improving childcare. This makes her decision to take maternity leave even more significant. Only 30 per cent of councillors in Japan are women, and only 1.2 per cent of them are under 40.

Kawata is not from a political family, but was always interested in politics. She majored in economics at Kyoto University. She later became a political aide and was elected mayor in 2023. She has spent the last three years tackling the problem of depopulation. Her constituency had a population of 74,329 in 2002 and stands at 67,876 as of April 2026.

Kawata says she was aware of Japan's shrinking population, but only started to understand the scale of it after she took office. She hopes her decision to take maternity leave inspires other women to get involved in politics. Her leave will begin in mid-July 2026, and she plans to return in December.