A female member of a government panel participated in a meeting at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's office with her 2-month-old baby on Thursday, with the Cabinet pledging to take necessary measures to promote women's empowerment.
Shoko Takahashi, founder of the Japanese personal genome company Genequest, is believed to be the first person to take their newborn to a gathering held at the Prime Minister's Office, according to its secretariat.
The secretariat received consultation in advance from Takahashi and prepared a place for her to breastfeed, although she did not actually use it.
Later in the day, Takahashi told reporters while carrying her baby in a sling, "The baby started to cry a little during the meeting, but everyone smiled and interacted kindly. We were warmly welcomed by them."