Japanese politician brings her baby to municipal assembly. Men confront her the moment she sits down

A Japanese politician trying to prove a point about working mothers did just that when officials promptly removed her baby from a municipal assembly. 

Yuka Ogata, a member of the Kumamoto city assembly, brought her 7-month-old son Dogen into the chamber Wednesday, her first day back to work since giving birth.

“I wanted to appear in the assembly hall with my baby and represent the voices of mothers, working and nonworking, who tell me they’re struggling to raise a child in Japan,” Ogata, who also has a daughter, told The Washington Post. “Women want to be able to raise a child and work happily, without having to sacrifice one of these things.”

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A video from the assembly shows four men confronting her about the baby, a fifth man standing behind them. There isn't a rule against bringing babies to assemblies, but rules prohibit visitors from meetings. So, the baby was removed from Ogata's arms because he was considered a visitor. 

The assembly started 40 minutes late, opening with an apology from chairman Yoshitomo Sawada, who earlier reprimanded Ogata, and a councilman reportedly replied: "You’re not the one who needs to be apologizing," according to a Tokyo-based news site.

Sawada told media that assembly officials "would like to work on a system where assembly members can participate in meetings with their children," the BBC reports.

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