A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking - BBC News

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.

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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 raised eyebrows.

But the reaction was far stronger - and more divided - than Shoko Kawata had ever anticipated.

The 35-year-old has been plunged into a national debate about whether elected officials should take time off for childbirth, in a country that's struggling to lift birth rates.