The Yomiuri Shimbun surveyed the secretariats of prefectural and municipal assemblies nationwide regarding their initiatives to promote gender equality in local assemblies.
The responses showed that 83 percent listed "childbirth" as a valid reason for absence in the assembly's rules or elsewhere, though only 16 percent addressed leave before or after delivery.
The law to promote gender equality in politics went into force in May. The law demands -- as a fundamental principle -- the creation of environments that enable assembly members to balance political activities with family life. The survey showed that efforts to create such environments had just started.
The survey was conducted from July 23 to Aug. 23. Responses were obtained from 1,479 secretariats of 1,788 assemblies, a response rate of 83 percent.
The House of Councillors and House of Representatives stipulated childbirth as a reason for being absent in their rules in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Local assemblies have lagged in addressing the issue. In 2015, controversy arose over treating childbirth as an "accident." At the time, Haruko Arimura, then minister in charge of women's empowerment, asked the National Association of Chairpersons of City Council and other organizations to make childbirth a valid reason for being absent.
In the recent survey, 1,224 local assemblies, or 83 percent, said childbirth was clearly listed in their rules as a valid reason for absence.
However, these rules often do not clarify whether absences for childbirth include those that occur before and after delivery.
When asked whether they had rules equivalent to the "six weeks before and eight weeks after delivery" as stipulated by the Labor Standards Law, 7 percent of assemblies, including that of Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, answered in the affirmative.
Nine percent of assemblies, including that of Takayama, Gunma Prefecture, said this was not stated clearly in their rules, but was applied in practice.
Eight percent of assemblies, including that of Tama, Tokyo, said they had rules on assembly members' compensation during absences for childbirth.
Assembly members are considered a special class of local government employee to which the Labor Standards Law does not apply.
It is up to the individual assemblies to decide how to address childbirth, though few have rules on the matter.
Regarding these circumstances, an official at the village office of Sarufutsu, Hokkaido, said, "We have no female members and have never had a female candidate in the past. We'll resolve these issues when a woman runs for assembly."
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