Photo/Illutration Multi-shogi titleholder Kana Fukuma speaks at a news conference the day after submitting a petition at the Osaka Bar Association building in Osaka on Dec. 10. (Takuya Tanabe)

Shogi champion Kana Fukuma won a victory off the board on Dec. 16, as the Japan Shogi Association agreed to lift match scheduling rules for female players who are pregnant or after giving birth. 

The association announced a partial change to its regulations concerning pregnancy and childbirth for female players, following a request from Fukuma, 33, to review the rules.

The regulation stipulating that a player would be replaced if a title match schedule overlapped with the period of six weeks before or eight weeks after childbirth will be deleted, the association said.

In a document posted on its website, the association announced that it held an emergency executive board meeting on Dec. 15 and decided to remove the regulation.

It said the association will “explicitly state in the regulations that pregnancy and childbirth are valid reasons for changing match dates and other scheduling, and will make every possible adjustment.”

It also clarified that “in circumstances where the schedule cannot be physically adjusted, or it is difficult to secure a venue and the match date cannot be changed, the player will be changed, and alternative measures will be taken for the player who is unable to participate.”

Until now, the association had explained to title match sponsors and some female players that if a female player's childbirth overlapped with a title match, the aforementioned regulation would be applied, and the match date could not be changed.

In the document, the association stated that it "deeply regrets this (past practice) and will work to prevent a recurrence."

The association will launch a committee to study regulations for official title matches as early as January of next year to consider the nature of these regulations and alternative measures for female players who were unable to play in title matches due to pregnancy and childbirth.

It aims to produce a final draft of its recommendations by the end of April.

The association's president, Ichiyo Shimizu, who became the organization’s first female president in its 101-year history in June, said in a statement that the association seeks to create an environment for both male and female "kishi" professionals to have peace of mind in "various phases of life, including pregnancy and childbirth." 

“Taking this review as a starting point, we will earnestly listen to the discussions in the study committee and the voices of female players, sponsors and fans, and will devote our full efforts to building a better system and operational structure,” Shimizu said in the statement.

CHAMPION’S PETITION PROMPTED REVIEW

Fukuma, who holds six of the eight major women’s shogi championship titles, gave birth to her first son in December 2024.

Because her pregnancy overlapped with the schedules of title matches and her continued poor health prevented her from playing, the dates for the defense matches of the three titles she held were changed.

However, in two title matches where she was the challenger, she had to forfeit some of the games.

In response to this issue, the association began creating rules for when female players become pregnant and give birth, and in April this year, it introduced a regulation preventing players from participating in title matches for six weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth.

Fukuma submitted a petition to the association on Dec. 9 seeking for this regulation to be amended.

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