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Related Stories (2)
A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking
In the face of criticism, Shoko Kawata, 35, says she loves her job and is proud to be taking time off to have a baby.
July 2, 2026What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates
Why did Hungary’s pronatalist approach deliver an early rise in births only then to fall back? And what lessons does it offer to other countries desperate to lift fertility?
June 15, 2026Related Pages (2)
A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking
Watch: Shoko Kawata will make history as the first Japanese mayor to take maternity leave When the mayor of a small town in western Japan announced she was taking maternity leave, she expected some r
bbc.co.uk•July 3, 2026
What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates
Sitting on a park bench in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, Barbara Elek is nervously refreshing her emails. She and her husband Levi are waiting to find out if Barbara is pregnant, after their
bbc.com•June 19, 2026