Yukio Hatoyama

Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山 友紀夫, born 鳩山 由紀夫, Hatoyama Yukio) was born on 11 February 1947. He is a retired Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan and as the Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from 2009 to 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the DPJ.

Hatoyama was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986. He became President of the DPJ, which was then the main opposition party, in May 2009. Under his leadership, the DPJ won the 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 until 2012. In that year, Hatoyama announced his retirement from political office.

Following his retirement, Hatoyama maintained an online presence, notably on Twitter, where he expressed outspoken political views. In 2015, he attracted controversy following a visit to Crimea, where he claimed that Russia's annexation of Crimea was constitutional and predicted that Ukraine and NATO would launch nuclear strikes against Russia in 2023. In 2020, he participated in founding the minor Kyowa Party but later left the party.

**Early Life and Family**

Yukio Hatoyama was born in Bunkyō, Tokyo. He comes from a prominent Japanese political family, often compared to the Kennedy family of the United States. His lineage includes several notable politicians: his paternal great-grandfather, Kazuo Hatoyama, served as speaker of the House of Representatives during the Meiji era and later presided over Waseda University. His great-grandmother, Haruko Hatoyama, co-founded what is now Kyoritsu Women's University. His grandfather, Ichirō Hatoyama, was a significant political figure who served as Prime Minister and was a founding member and the first President of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1956. Ichirō Hatoyama restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union during his tenure, facilitating Japan's admission to the United Nations.

Yukio is the son of Iichirō Hatoyama, who also served as Foreign Minister. His mother, Yasuko Hatoyama, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corporation. Yasuko is recognized for her substantial financial contributions to her sons' political careers, including donations amounting to billions of yen for the founding of the DPJ in 1996. His younger brother, Kunio Hatoyama, served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications until June 2009.

**Education and Personal Life**

Hatoyama earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokyo in 1969, and a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University in 1976. He met his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, while studying at Stanford; she was working at a Japanese restaurant at the time. They married in 1975 after Miyuki divorced her previous husband. Their son, Kiichirō Hatoyama, graduated from the University of Tokyo's urban engineering department and is a visiting researcher at Moscow State University, and he was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2024 general election.

**Academic Career**

Prior to his full-time political career, Yukio Hatoyama worked as an assistant professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1976 to 1981. He then served as an associate professor at Senshu University from 1981 to 1984.

**Political Career Highlights**

Hatoyama was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 representing the Hokkaido 9th district. Initially a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he left the LDP in 1993 to co-found the New Party Sakigake with Naoto Kan, Masayoshi Takemura, and Shūsei Tanaka. Later, he and Kan joined the Democratic Party of Japan, which was founded in 1996, with their mother Yasuko providing significant financial support for the party's establishment.

He served as the Democratic Party of Japan's chairman and leader of the opposition from 1999 to 2002. Following the resignation of Ichirō Ozawa, Hatoyama succeeded him as party leader in May 2009, winning the leadership election with 124 of 219 votes.

**Prime Ministership (2009–2010)**

Yukio Hatoyama's tenure as Prime Minister began after his party's election victory. His administration promised to reduce public works spending and redirect funds to social welfare programs. His government introduced policies such as a subsidy for families with young children, the abolition of public high school tuition fees, social support initiatives for rice farmers and single mothers, and expanded social and educational budgets. His government also extended employment insurance to all workers and increased assistance for low-income persons with disabilities.

He encountered a finance scandal in December 2009 when it was revealed that he received approximately $4 million in improperly reported donations, primarily from his mother. The scandal affected his popularity, but prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against him, citing insufficient evidence.

**Foreign Policy**

During his tenure, Hatoyama advocated for a shift from a Japan-U.S.-centric foreign policy to a more independent, Asia-focused approach. This included efforts to make Japanese foreign policy more transparent and re-examined the bilateral relationship with the United States. He ended Japan's refueling mission in Afghanistan, a move aligned with Japan's pacifist constitution.

**Retirement and Later Activities**

In 2012, Yukio Hatoyama retired from active politics. Since retiring, he has remained publicly active through online platforms, often sharing his views on international and domestic issues.