Shoko Kawata was little known outside her city until recently, when her decision to take maternity leave thrust her into Japan’s debate over women in leadership roles.
Kawata, mayor of the city of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, first drew national attention in 2023 when she was elected at age 33 as Japan’s youngest female mayor. She is due to give birth in mid-September and will take 16 weeks of maternity leave — eight weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth — becoming the first sitting mayor in Japan to do so.
Her decision comes as Japan grapples with a declining birth rate and persistent gender gaps in political leadership, bringing renewed attention to how public office accommodates pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. Japan recorded an estimated 705,809 births in 2025, the lowest figure since records began in 1899 and the 10th straight year of decline.
