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 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 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.
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