The Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet governed Japan from September 2009 to June 2010, following the landslide victory of the
Democratic Party of Japan in the
election on 30 August 2009. The election marked the first time in Japanese post-war history that voters delivered the control of the government to the opposition. The cabinet was also the first since
Hata Cabinet
The Hata Cabinet governed Japan for two months from April 28 to June 30, 1994, under the leadership of Tsutomu Hata of the Japan Renewal Party.
Political background
Hata became Prime Minister following the resignation of Morihiro Hosokawa as he ...
in 1994 that included no members of the
LDP.
Political background
Yukio Hatoyama
is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hat ...
and the
DPJ came into power after their historic victory in the
2009 general election. The DPJ won more than 300
House of Representatives seats in the election and inflicted the worst defeat for a sitting government in modern Japanese history to the
LDP. Hatoyama entered office with high approval ratings amid high public expectations to recover the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
-hit economy and reform Japan's stagnant politics. These high expectations contributed to a drop in popularity of the government. The government became more unpopular after it broke a campaign promise of closing down
an American air base in
Okinawa Prefecture. Hatoyama initially moved to close down the base after the election, but relented to the pressure from the American government. Hatoyama also cited the escalation of tension in the
Korean Peninsula following the
sinking of South Korean Navy corvette ''Cheonan'' as a factor that contributed to the base being kept. The continuous drop in the government's approval ratings led to Hatoyama's resignation on 2 June 2010.
During his short premiership, Hatoyama managed to pass a relatively significant amount of progressive reforms, including the introduction of new social benefits for families, a marked increase in the education budget, the abolition of public high school tuition fees and welfare expansion. Japan also developed a more Asia-focused policy and a warmer
relations with China under Hatoyama, culminated with a visit by then-
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, si ...
to
Tokyo in January 2010.
Election of the Prime Minister
Lists of ministers
R = Member of the
House of Representatives
C = Member of the
House of Councillors
Cabinet
References
External links
List of Ministers of the Hatoyama Cabinet - Prime Minister's Office (Kantei)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatoyama Cabinet
Cabinet of Japan
2009 establishments in Japan
2010 disestablishments in Japan
Cabinets established in 2009
Cabinets disestablished in 2010