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is a former Japanese politician who served as
Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
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, Hatoyama became President of the DPJ, the main opposition party, in May 2009. He then led the party to victory in the August 2009 general election, defeating the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had been in power for over a decade. He represented the Hokkaido 9th district in the House of Representatives from 1986 to 2012.


Early life and family

Hatoyama comes from a prominent Japanese political family which has been likened to the Kennedy family of the United States.; Hayashi, Yuka
"Japan's Hatoyama Sustains Family Political Tradition,"
''Wall Street Journal'' (WSJ). 1 August 2009.
Hatoyama, who was born in
Bunkyō is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and pol ...
, Tokyo, is a fourth-generation politician. His paternal great-grandfather, Kazuo Hatoyama, was speaker of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan from 1896 to 1897 during the Meiji era.Takahashi, Kosuke
"Japan on the brink of a new era"
''
Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English ...
'', 29 August 2009.
Kazuo later served as the president of
Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...
. His paternal great-grandmother,
Haruko Hatoyama was a Japanese educator of the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa periods, and the matriarchal head of the prominent Japanese Hatoyama political family which has been called "Japan's Kennedy family." She was a co-founder of what is today Kyoritsu Wome ...
, was a co-founder of what is known today as Kyoritsu Women's University. His paternal grandfather, Ichirō Hatoyama, was a major politician; he served as Prime Minister and was a founder and the first President of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1956. As Prime Minister, he restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, which cleared the way for Japan's membership in the United Nations. Hatoyama is the son of
Iichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician and diplomat. Between 1976 and 1977, he served as Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. He was the son and father of two former Prime Ministers, Ichirō At end of the war, Iichirō was one of 6.6 million ...
, who was Foreign Minister for a time. His mother,
Yasuko Hatoyama was the wife of former Japanese Foreign Minister Iichirō Hatoyama and mother of former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama and Diet (Japan's bicameral legislature) member Kunio Hatoyama. Hatoyama funded the establishment of the Democratic Par ...
, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corporation and heir to his significant
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
. Yasuko Hatoyama is known as the "Godmother" within the Japanese political world for her financial contributions to both of her sons' political ambitions. In particular, Yasuko donated billions of yen when Kunio and Yukio co-created their previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 1996 to help establish her sons' fledgling political party. His younger brother,
Kunio Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Ministers Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda until 12 June 2009. Biography Kunio Hatoyama was born in Tokyo in 1948. He was a son of Yasuko Hato ...
, served as
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government O ...
under Prime Minister Taro Aso until 12 June 2009. His younger sister-in-law who is Kunio's wife, an Australian Japanese, was a TV personality in Japan. Hatoyama graduated with a
Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bac ...
from the
University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
in 1969 and received a PhD in
Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...
from Stanford University in 1976. He met his wife,
Miyuki Hatoyama is the wife of former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama. Originally an actress by profession, Hatoyama later worked as a stylist, interior designer and cookbook author. In an interview, then Prime Minister-designate Yukio Hatoyama credited ...
, while studying at Stanford (Miyuki was working at a Japanese restaurant). The couple married in 1975 after Miyuki divorced her ex-husband. The couple's son, , graduated from the
urban engineering Municipal or urban engineering applies the tools of science, art and engineering in an urban environment. Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining streets, ...
department of the
University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
, is a visiting engineering researcher at Moscow State University. Hatoyama worked as assistant professor (1976–1981) at Tokyo Institute of Technology and later transferred to
Senshu University is a private university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Campuses * Kanda Campus (Main campus): 3-8 Kandajimbo-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-8425 :The Kanda Campus is situated in Jimbocho, a college community in central Tokyo. This urban campus consists ...
as associate professor (1981–1984). Hatoyama's son Kiichiro Hatoyama (1976) is married and has given Hatoyama senior two grandchildren.


Ancestry


Political career

Hatoyama ran for a seat in the Hokkaido 9th District and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 representing the ruling LDP. In 1993 he left the LDP to form the New Party Sakigake with Naoto Kan, Masayoshi Takemura and . He and Kan then left to join the newly formed Democratic Party of Japan (1996). Hatoyama and his younger brother, Kunio Hatoyama, co-created the party, using billions of yen donated by their mother, Yasuko. Kunio Hatoyama eventually left the DPJ, saying the party had drifted too far to the left from its original centrist roots, and rejoined the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Yukio remained with the party through its merger with several other opposition parties in 1998. The elder Hatoyama became the Democratic Party of Japan's chairman and leader of the opposition from 1999 to 2002, after which he resigned to take responsibility for the confusion that arose from rumors of mergers with Ichirō Ozawa's then
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
. He was Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) before he succeeded Ozawa as party leader following Ozawa's resignation on 11 May 2009. Hatoyama was chosen by fellow party representatives on 16 May 2009, winning 124 of the 219 votes and defeating rival
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party, and previously of the Democratic Party of Japan. ...
. Because of his quirky hairstyle, prominent eyes, and eccentric manner, he is known by his supporters and his opposition alike as "ET" or "The Alien", a nickname his wife states he earned because of how different he is from old-style Japanese politicians. Another nickname commonly used by the Japanese public in press was Popo, after a children's song about a pigeon that starts with the lyric "popopo, hato popo"; the first character in Hatoyama's last name is the Japanese word for 'pigeon'.


Prime minister

Hatoyama entered his prime minister career with a high approval rating. The DPJ promised to end lavish spending on public works projects associated with LDP and to divert that money to tax cuts and subsidies for households. Expectations were high that he would break strongly with the policies of the LDP. Hatoyama's popularity soon began to falter after the DPJ struggled to meet the high expectations they set in the midst of a sliding economy. In May 2010 he faced a possible no confidence vote, and on 2 June 2010, Hatoyama announced that he would be resigning as Prime Minister. Although Yukio Hatayoma was prime minister for less than a year, he had a wide range of achievements to his name by the time that he left office. Amongst his achievements included: * The introduction of a state subsidy for families with young children. * The abolition of public high school tuition fees. * The introduction of an individual household income support project for rice farmers. * The restoration of the Additional Living Support Allowance for Single-Mother Households. * A big increase in social spending, with the social security budget, including spending on childrearing, nursing care, and medical care, increased by 9.8% as child allowances were introduced and the remuneration schedule for medical services was increased for the first time in ten years. * An 8.2% increase in the education budget. * An expansion in the student scholarship system to cover more students. * The extension of employment insurance to all workers. * A reduction in medical expenses for unemployed persons. * The elimination of age-discriminatory practices in remuneration schedules and medical services. * The expansion of assistance for the "development of public rental housing with annexed facilities for supporting the elderly and childrearing households" to include "public rental housing with annexed medical facilities". * The introduction of free welfare services and equipment for low-income persons with disabilities.


Illegal campaign contributions

In December 2009, a finance scandal caused a drop in Hatoyama's popularity. It was revealed that Hatoyama received $4 million in donations that were improperly reported. Most of the money was given by his mother, a wealthy heiress, and some of the reported givers had the names of deceased people. The scandal raised questions about his credibility while also highlighting his privileged background. However, according to
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestria ...
in 2010 prosecutors chose not to pursue him citing insufficient evidence of criminal activity, although a secretary was given a suspended prison sentence, and a review panel commented: "it is difficult to believe Hatoyama's assertion he was unaware of the falsifications."


Spending review

In December, the DPJ created a government task force to review government spending and pledged to make cuts equal to $32.8 billion. However, the task force cut only a quarter of that amount. Hatoyama even had to renege on a campaign promise to cut road-related taxes – including a highly symbolic gasoline tax and highway tolls. Hatoyama faced criticism from fringes of his own party, some calling for a return to public works spending.


Foreign policy

Hatoyama, representing the policies DPJ campaigned on, wanted to shift Japan's focus from a more America-centric foreign policy to a more Asia-focused policy. Also, he wanted to make foreign policy decisions with America more transparent, from a popular perception that Japanese foreign policy was determined by insiders behind closed doors. The DPJ's election platform called for re-examining its ties with the United States. As the 1960 Japan–U.S. security treaty entered its 50th year, Hatoyama called for a "close and equal" Japan–U.S. relationship, which meant more independence for Japan's role. Hatoyama ended an eight-year refueling mission in Afghanistan, a highly symbolic move because the mission had long been criticized for violating the nation's pacifist Constitution. In order not to anger Washington, Hatoyama offered $5 billion in civilian aid for Afghanistan reconstruction. Hatoyama was also faced with the issue of the relocation of the American Futenma Marine Corps Air Base. The United States government hoped that Hatoyama would honor a 2006 agreement to relocate the base to a less populated part of Okinawa and move 8,000 marines to Guam. Some voices in the DPJ demanded that America move its military bases off Okinawa islands altogether. Hatoyama was torn between public opinion on Okinawa and the desire to retain strong ties with Washington. In moving towards a more Asia-centered foreign policy, Hatoyama worked towards making relations better with nearby East Asian countries, even saying "the Japanese Islands don't belong to only Japanese". Hatoyama worked to deepen economic integration with the East Asian region, pushing for a
free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cust ...
in Asia by 2020 and proposing Haneda airport as a 24-hour hub for international flights. In January 2010, he welcomed South Korea's
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, calling for 'future-oriented' ties, as opposed to recalling the past, in which Japan colonized Korea. Relations with China also warmed under Hatoyama. The first few months saw an exchange of visits, including one by favored successor to China's leadership
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 ...
, for whom Hatoyama hastily arranged an appointment with Emperor Akihito. On 7 January, the ''
Daily Yomiuri The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
'' reported high-level discussion over a further exchange of visits between the two countries to promote reconciliation over historical issues. "Beijing aims to ease anti-Japan sentiment among the Chinese public by having Hatoyama visit Nanjing and express a sense of regret about the Sino-Japanese War", the paper reported.


Resignation

On 2 June 2010, Hatoyama announced his resignation as Prime Minister before a meeting of the Japanese Democratic Party. He cited breaking a campaign promise to close an American military base on the island of Okinawa as the main reason for the move. On 28 May 2010, soon after and because of increased tensions from the sinking of a South Korean navy ship allegedly by North Korea, Hatoyama had made a deal with U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
to retain the base for security reasons, but the deal was unpopular in Japan. He also mentioned money scandals involving a top party leader, Ichirō Ozawa, who resigned as well, in his decision to step down. Hatoyama had been pressed to leave by members of his party after doing poorly in polls in anticipation of an upper house election in July 2010.


Cabinet


After prime ministership

After stepping down as prime minister Hatoyama continued to serve as a DPJ diet member. When Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda introduced legislation to raise the consumption tax from 5% to 10% Hatoyama was one of 57 DPJ lower house lawmakers who voted against the bill. His membership in the DPJ was suspended for six months, subsequently reduced to three. Unlike some of the tax rioters, Hatoyama did not leave the DPJ to join Ichiro Ozawa's
People's Life First was a short-lived political party in Japan. It had 37 out of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, and 12 in the 242-member House of Councillors. On 28 November 2012, the party merged into Governor of Shiga Yukiko Kada's Japan Future Par ...
party, but continued to act within the DPJ to fight against both the consumption tax increase and the restart of nuclear plants. On 20 July 2012 he addressed a crowd of protesters outside the prime minister's residence, saying it was premature to restart nuclear reactors. In the lead-up to the 16 December 2012 general election the DPJ announced that it would not endorse candidates who did not agree to follow its current policies, including the consumption tax hike and support for joining the negotiations to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership. On 21 November Hatoyama proclaimed that he would retire from politics. Hatoyama was later expelled from the party. On 9 January 2013, Hatoyama expressed a government apology to the victims of Japanese war crimes in China during a visit to Nanjing. He also urged the Japanese government to acknowledge the dispute between the two countries concerning sovereignty of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. On 21 March 2013, Hatoyama was appointed as the honorary chairman and a senior consultant of Hoifu Energy Group. The firm was named in the Paradise Papers, despite the leak "do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly", according to a disclaimer of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. In March 2015, Hatoyama visited
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
and claimed that the referendum in Crimea was "constitutional." Hatoyama practices the Transcendental Meditation technique and delivered the Maharishi University of Management commencement address on 23 May 2015 and will be awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Hatoyama continues to display his outspokenness after his retirement from politics. He is one of the most followed Japanese current/ex-politicians on Twitter and still regularly attempts to weigh in on current affairs.


Awards and honors


Sustainable Development Leadership Award

On 5 February 2010, Hatoyama was awarded the Sustainable Development Leadership Award of the
Delhi Sustainable Development Summit The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is an annual conference organized by The Energy and Resources Institute The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a research institute in New Delhi that specializes in the fields of energy, e ...
2010. The reason for the award was "his effort to confront climate change and leading his government to make it a main issue".


Time 100

In 2010, ''Time'' magazine's " Time 100" elected Hatoyama as No. 6 among the 100 most influential people in the world. It said Hatoyama had "helped change his country from a de facto one-party state into a functional democracy", through the DPJ victory in the 2009 general election.NEW YORK, 29 April (AP) – (Kyodo)


See also

*
Hatoyama Hall , also known as the , is a Western-style residence in Bunkyō, Tokyo commissioned in 1924 by Ichirō Hatoyama, and it was here that he helped form the present Liberal Democratic Party. The house and gardens are in the process of evolving into a ...


References


Bibliography

* Itoh, Mayumi (2003)
''The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership through the Generations''
New York: Palgrave Macmillan. , . . *


External links


Official website

Official Twitter account


– a ''Yuai'' ('' Fraternity'') association: Yukio Hatoyama is the chairperson. (broken link) * Outlines his party's philosophy of tempering the excesses of market capitalism and of moving towards regional integration and collective security in Asia. * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatoyama, Yukio 1947 births Living people 21st-century prime ministers of Japan Stanford University alumni University of Tokyo alumni Bridgestone people Yukio Senshu University faculty Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese industrial engineers Japanese racehorse owners and breeders Liberalism in Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Prime Ministers of Japan Democratic Party of Japan politicians Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians New Party Sakigake politicians Tokyo Institute of Technology faculty Japanese Baptists 21st-century Japanese politicians Politicians from Tokyo People named in the Paradise Papers