Japanese politician brings baby to assembly

A Japanese politician created a stir by bringing her baby to a municipal council session.

Yuka Ogata, 42, said she wanted to show how difficult it was for women to juggle careers and raise children.

Kumamoto municipal assembly officials said the woman had violated assembly rules as "visitors and observers are forbidden from the floor".

Wednesday's incident was the first time Ogata had attended a municipal assembly plenary session since giving birth to her son seven months ago, the BBC reported.

She told reporters that she had asked the Secretariat repeatedly to either allow her son to be with her during the assemblies or to provide a day-care facility.

 

"I wanted the assembly to be a place where women who are raising children can also do a great job," Ogata said. However, she received no positive response and then decided to bring her child anyway.

After a lengthy discussion, Ogata left the child with a friend and the session started 40 minutes late. The council said it will discuss her case and ways to support lawmakers with young children.

Speaker Yoshitomo Sawada said: "We would like to work on a system where assembly members can participate in meetings with their children."

Meanwhile, the council secretariat told Asahi Shimbun newspaper that Ogata had only expressed her "anxiety about being separated from the child for a long time" but had not actually requested to bring her child to the plenary session.

--IANS

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