36岁的京都府八幡市市长川田翔子今年早些时候宣布休产假，在国内外引起轰动，她是日本首位在任期间休产假的市长。
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.
周三，《时代》杂志将川田翔子列入“全球最具影响力的100位新星”榜单。她于2023年当选，成为日本史上最年轻的女性市长。
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.
据市政府官员透露，川田于9月15日诞下一女。她从7月开始休产假，期间通过在线方式处理市政事务，产假预计持续至11月8日。
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.
“决定休产假并不困难，因为我从未认为生育与公职不相容，”她在5月接受《日本时报》采访时表示，“我只是觉得这应该被视为常态。”川田的决定在日本引发褒贬不一，日本女性政客比例仍低，职场性别偏见依然是女性面临的主要障碍。
“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.
《时代》杂志的介绍补充道：“许多人认为批评反映了日本在应对更广泛的人口危机方面的挣扎，苛刻的职场期望和不断上涨的生活成本让育儿变得越来越遥不可及。”
“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.
该美国杂志还指出，川田推行了多项家庭友好政策，包括降低学校午餐费、幼儿园免费提供纸尿裤，以及推动更完善的产后护理。杂志总结道：“川田正在展示日本如何变得更适合家庭居住。”
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.
入选《时代》榜单的还有英国演员希梅什·帕特尔、受日本启创办Food4Education的瓦维拉·恩吉鲁、中国数学家邓宇等年轻变革者。
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.