Japan mayor who took maternity leave named to Time’s list of most influential

Shoko Kawata, the 36-year-old mayor of Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, made waves at home and abroad earlier this year when she announced she would take maternity leave, in a first for a sitting mayor in Japan.

On Wednesday, Time named Kawata, who was Japan’s youngest-ever female mayor when elected in 2023, to its list of 100 of the World’s Most Influential Rising Stars.

According to city officials, Kawata gave birth to a baby girl on Sept. 15. Kawata, who went on maternity leave in July, has been managing city duties online during her leave, which is scheduled to run through Nov. 8.

“The decision to take maternity leave wasn’t difficult because I never saw childbirth and public office as incompatible,” she told The Japan Times in an interview in May. “I just felt it was something that should be accepted as normal.”

Kawata’s decision drew a mix of praise and backlash in Japan, where the share of female politicians remains low and gender bias poses a major hurdle for women in the workplace.

“Many saw the criticism as reflecting the country’s struggle to address its broader demographic crisis, as demanding workplace expectations and rising costs of living put parenthood increasingly out of reach,” the Time writeup added.

The U.S. magazine also noted Kawata’s administration has promoted several family-friendly policy items, including reducing the price of school lunches, making diapers free at preschools and pushing for more postpartum care.

“Kawata is demonstrating how Japan can become more livable for families,” the magazine concluded.

Kawata was joined on the Time list by English actor Himesh Patel, Japan-inspired Food4Education founder Wawira Njiru and Chinese mathematician Yu Deng, among other young difference-makers.