Shoko Kawata, the mayor of the city of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, during an interview at city hall on Friday | REUTERS
Jul 20, 2026
YAWATA, KYOTO PREF. – The mayor of a small Japanese city became the first sitting mayor in the country to take maternity leave on Monday, a decision that has drawn some criticism at home and attracted international media attention.
Shoko Kawata, the mayor of Yawata, a city of around 69,000 people in Kyoto Prefecture, said she had planned to have children when she became Japan’s youngest female mayor in 2023 at the age of 33.
However, while 16 weeks of maternity leave are guaranteed for Yawata city employees, no such protocol existed for the mayoral position, she said, forcing her to create one.
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