赫海威, KIUKO NOTOYA2026年6月29日八幡市市长川田翔子本月在她的办公室里。她将成为日本首位休产假的市长。 Noriko Hayashi for The New York TimesThe news traveled fast in Yawata, a spiritual oasis of 68,000 people in western Japan known for its traditional tea culture and cherry blossoms. Shoko Kawata, the city’s mayor, was pregnant with her first child — and she was planning to take maternity leave, the first mayor in Japan to do so.消息在日本西部这座拥有6.8万人口、以传统茶文化和樱花闻名的精神绿洲八幡市迅速传开。该市市长川田翔子怀上了她的第一个孩子——并且计划休产假，这将使她成为日本首位休产假的市长。Many residents of Yawata celebrated Ms. Kawata, 35, and her decision, which she announced in May. They offered gifts like crocheted baby shoes and auspicious ceremonial rocks. But in Japan’s patriarchal society, some people — especially men — responded with anger, calling her irresponsible, and accusing her of placing her personal life above her constituents.许多八幡市居民对35岁的川田以及她于5月宣布的这一决定表示祝贺。他们送来了诸如手工钩编的婴儿鞋和寓意吉祥的赏石等礼物。但在日本这个男权社会，一些人——尤其是男性——对此做出了愤怒的回应，称她不负责任，并指责她将个人生活置于选民之上。“I somehow realized for the first time just how much discrimination still exists,” Ms. Kawata, who is six months pregnant, said in an interview this past week at City Hall, inside a room lined with portraits of her male predecessors.“我似乎第一次真正意识到，依然存在着多么深的歧视，”怀孕六个月的川田上周在市长办公室接受采访时说道，房间内整齐地挂着历任男性前任市长的肖像。Ms. Kawata’s decision has prompted a national debate about the hurdles that working women still face — on the factory floor, in corporate suites and in government. Discrimination against young mothers is still so common that there is a Japanese word for it: matahara, or maternity harassment. Some women feel pressure to avoid taking extended maternity leave, worried their careers might suffer.川田的决定引发了一场关于职场女性目前仍面临的障碍的全国性辩论——无论是在工厂车间、公司管理层还是在政府中。针对年轻母亲的歧视依然如此普遍，以至于日本甚至为此专门创造了一个词：matahara，即孕产骚扰。一些女性感到压力而避免休长产假，担心自己的职业生涯可能会受到影响。针对年轻母亲的歧视依然如此普遍，以至于日本甚至为此专门创造了一个词：matahara，即孕产骚扰。Despite the history-making election last year of Sanae Takaichi as Japan’s first female prime minister, women are still scarce in Japan’s government. That is especially true at the local level. As of last year, less than 4 percent of 1,740 municipal leaders were women.尽管去年高市早苗当选日本首位女性首相，创造了历史，在日本政府中，女性依然凤毛麟角。在地方层面上尤其如此。截至去年，在1740名地方市镇领导人中，女性占比不到4%。Ms. Kawata has been hailed as a trailblazer by some officials, scholars and activists, who say she is helping normalize the idea of maternity leave.川田被一些官员、学者和活动人士誉为开拓者，他们表示她正在帮助将休产假这一观念正常化。Kyoko Morisawa, the mayor of Shinagawa City, a part of Tokyo, said it was important for Japan to have more young mothers like Ms. Kawata in public life, especially given the rapidly declining population.东京都品川区区长森泽恭子表示，鉴于人口急剧下降，让更多像川田这样的年轻母亲参与到公共生活中来对日本至关重要。“We should do more to support child-raising as a society,” said Ms. Morisawa, a mother. “Taking leave should not be news.”“作为社会，我们应该采取更多措施来支持育儿，”身为母亲的森泽说。“休假不应该成为新闻。”Ms. Kawata, who previously worked as a social worker and political aide, is accustomed to challenging convention.当过社工和政治助手的川田早已习惯了挑战传统。In 2023, when she was 33, she became the first woman to be elected as Yawata’s mayor, and the youngest woman ever elected mayor in Japan, succeeding a 71-year-old politician with promises to expand medical care for children and promote tourism.2023年，时年33岁的她成为首位当选为八幡市市长的女性，也是日本有史以来最年轻的女性市长。她接替了一位71岁的政治人士，承诺扩大针对儿童的医疗保健并促进旅游业。When she learned she was pregnant this year, she decided, after discussing with her staff, to take about two months before the birth — expected in mid-September — and two months after. She arranged for a deputy to manage day-to-day business while she is away, though she will remain involved in major decisions.今年得知自己怀孕后，她与幕僚讨论后决定在预产期（预计在9月中旬）前休假约两个月，在产后休假两个月。她安排了一名副手在她不在期间管理日常事务，不过她仍将参与重大决策。川田坐在八幡市政府的议会厅内。在日本政府中，女性依然凤毛麟角：截至去年，在日本1720名地方市镇领导人中，女性占比不到4%。As word of her pregnancy spread in the national media, she held a news conference to explain her decision.随着怀孕的消息在全国媒体上传开，她举行了一场新闻发布会来解释自己的决定。“Systems can be changed, but people cannot,” she told reporters. “I cannot become a man.”“制度可以改变，但人不能改变，”她告诉记者。“我无法变成一个男人。”The announcement caused a stir in Yawata, a town near Kyoto city that is dotted with Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. City Hall received about 90 messages in support of Ms. Kawata’s decision, and 70 opposed.这一声明在八幡市引起了轰动，这座靠近京都、有许多神道教神社和佛教寺庙的小镇一时间群情激荡。市长办公室收到了大约90条支持川田决定的信息，以及70条反对信息。A heated debate erupted online. One of the loudest voices was Toshio Tamogami, a retired general and nationalist politician, who wrote on X that he felt “a great sense of discomfort about someone in public office taking such a long vacation.”网络上爆发了一场激烈的辩论。其中发声最响亮的人之一是退役将领、民族主义政治人物田母神俊雄，他在X上写道，他对“公职人员休这么长的假感到非常难以接受”。In an interview, Mr. Tamogami said he felt that women who plan to have children or take maternity leave should avoid running for office.在接受采访时，田母神表示，他认为计划要孩子或休产假的女性应该避免竞选公职。“Unlike people in ordinary jobs, a mayor is, so to speak, irreplaceable,” he said. “To say, ‘It’s my right, so I’m running regardless’ — I feel it would be better if they refrained from doing so.”“与普通工作的人不同，可以说市长是不可替代的，”他说。“如果说‘这是我的权利，所以我不管怎样都要竞选’——我觉得如果她们能克制自己、不这样做会更好。”Ms. Kawata, who has taken a break from social media because of the backlash, said it was regrettable to be “fiercely attacked” by Mr. Tamogami and others.因遭到强烈抵制而暂停使用社交媒体的川田表示，受到田母神等人的“猛烈攻击”令人遗憾。Many people have come to Ms. Kawata’s defense, saying Japan would benefit from more women in politics.许多人站出来为川田辩护，称更多的女性参政将使日本受益。“Japan needs to create an environment in which people can take that leave as a matter of course,” said an editorial in the national Mainichi newspaper.全国性报纸《每日新闻》在一篇社论中指出：“日本需要创造一个让人人都能理所当然休这类假的环境。”In Yawata, residents said they were proud that their mayor was modeling the importance of starting a family. Some have encouraged her to have even more children.在八幡市，居民们表示，他们为自己的市长树立了重视家庭的榜样感到自豪。一些人甚至鼓励她生更多的孩子。在面临人口迅速老化的八幡市，居民们表示，他们为自己的市长树立了重视家庭的榜样而感到自豪。As she walked outside City Hall with a friend on a recent day, Toshiko Nakamura, 81, recalled that when she gave birth to her own children, maternity leave was rare. She said Ms. Kawata was helping set an example.近日，81岁的中村俊子（音）与朋友散步经过市长办公室外时回忆道，在她生孩子那个年代，产假是非常罕见的。她说川田正在协助树立一个榜样。“Japan has a low birthrate, so raising children while simultaneously leading a public office is difficult, but there are many people who can help,” she said. “I hope they’ll raise their hands and offer that help.”“日本的生育率很低，在担任公职的同时抚养孩子固然困难，但有许多人可以提供协助，”她说。“我希望他们能挺身而出，提供这种协助。”Inside her office, Ms. Kawata said her aim was to “create a society where talented individuals — regardless of gender — can demonstrate their abilities in high-level positions without having to sacrifice their family life.”在她的办公室里，川田表示她的目标是“创造一个让有才华的人——无论性别如何——都能在高层职位上展现自己的能力、不必牺牲其家庭生活的社会”。She said she hoped she might inspire more women to enter politics.她说，她希望自己能够激励更多的女性步入政坛。“It won’t be easy, but that is something we should aim for,” she said. “Policymaking will be better than ever before.”“肯定会很难，但那是我们应该追求的目标，”她说。“政策制定将会比以前更好。”赫海威(Javier C. Hernández)是《纽约时报》东京分社社长，领导时报对日本及周边地区的报道。在过去十年的大部分时间里，他一直在亚洲进行报道，此前曾任驻华记者。Kiuko Notoya是一名常驻东京的记者/研究员，报道日本新闻。翻译：经雷点击查看本文英文版。