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Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home avalonhci.com |
Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山由紀夫 Hatoyama Yukio, born 11 February 1947) is a Japanese politician who has been Prime Minister of Japan since September 2009. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hatoyama became President of the Democratic Party of Japan (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). He represents the 9th district of Hokkaidō in the House of Representatives. Hatoyama is only the second Japanese Prime Minister to be born after the end of World War II; the first was Shinzō Abe.
[edit] Early life and family Hatoyama comes from a prominent Japanese political family which has been called the "Kennedy family of Japan."[2] Hatoyama, who was born in Bunkyō, 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.[3] Kazuo later served as the president of Waseda University.[3] His paternal great-grandmother, Haruko Hatoyama, 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 (ja:自由民主党総裁 Jiyū-Minshutō Sōsai, 1956). As Prime Minister, he restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, which cleared the way for Japan's membership in the United Nations.[3] Hatoyama is the son of Iichirō Hatoyama, who was Foreign Minister for a time. His mother, Yasuko Hatoyama, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corporation and heir to his significant inheritance.[2] Yasuko Hatoyama is known as the "Godmother" within the Japanese political world for her financial contributions to both of her sons' political ambitions.[3] In particular, Yasuko donated billions of yen when Kunio and Yukio co-created the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 1996 to help establish her sons' fledgling political party.[3] His younger brother, Kunio Hatoyama, served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Minister Taro Aso until 12 June 2009. Hatoyama graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1969 and received a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University in 1976.[4] He met his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, while studying at Stanford.[3] The couple married in 1975 after she divorced her previous husband.[2] The couple's son, Kiichiro, is a visiting engineering researcher at Moscow State University.[3] Hatoyama worked as a research assistant at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and later moved to Senshu University and was promoted to assistant professor. [edit] Political careerHatoyama ran for a seat in Hokkaidō's 8th 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 Shūsei Tanaka (ja:田中秀征). 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.[3] 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).[3] 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 Party 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. He was Secretary-General of the DPJ[4] 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.[5] Hatoyama has indicated that his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, will take a prominent role for a Japanese First Lady during his administration.[6] 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"[7], a nickname his wife states he earned because of how different he is from old-style Japanese politicians. She claims he is not motivated by personal interest or greed.[8] However on 25 November 2009 the Daily Yomiuri reported that one of his former secretaries is being considered for indictment over false statements about Hatoyama's political fund involving 200 million yen. [edit] See also
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Categories: 1947 births | Living people | Members of the House of Representatives of Japan | Current national leaders | Japanese racehorse owners and breeders | Japanese politicians | People from Tokyo | Prime Ministers of Japan | University of Tokyo alumni | Stanford University alumni | Hatoyama family | 21st-century heads of government in Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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