Tokyo DispatchJapan, in EnglishShoko Kawada, 36, took eight weeks off before and after giving birth, with her deputy covering her duties. She says she wants to show that a mayor can combine the job with raising a child.
Shoko Kawada, 36, was back at her desk after four months, with the deputy mayor holding her legal authority and her husband on six months of childcare leave.
A former nursery teacher sentenced to 10 years for slashing a 2-year-old boy's neck with a utility knife told the Fukuoka High Court's Miyazaki branch she had done something an apology could not cover.
Kakegawa and Kobe have already shifted club activities out of public middle schools. A Nagoya University sociologist says children are splitting into three groups — and cost is starting to decide who keeps playing.
Shiho Zahebu was turned away by 40 group homes before a one-to-one visiting care scheme let her son Yuto live on his own. Six years on, her station supports six such households and is short of helpers.
The government opened a 14-member advisory council on Friday to draft a year-end population strategy, with a former internal affairs minister as chair.
