Japan's first mayor to take maternity leave lands on TIME100 Next list
Shoko Kawata's maternity leave drew mixed reactions in Japan, a country struggling to lift birth rates.
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"If we were to criticise politicians taking maternity leave, it means we are effectively excluding all women in their 20s through 40s - women who are capable of becoming pregnant - from public office."
— Shoko Kawata , Politician
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Shoko Kawata's maternity leave drew mixed reactions in Japan, a country struggling to lift birth rates.
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