1. Yukio Hatoyama is a retired Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2009 to 2010.
47 Facts About Yukio Hatoyama
1. 2.
Yukio Hatoyama was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan.
3.
Yukio Hatoyama then led the party to victory in the 2009 general election, defeating the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party, which had been in power for over a decade.
4.
Yukio Hatoyama represented the Hokkaido 9th district in the House of Representatives from 1986 to 2012.
5.
Yukio Hatoyama generated controversy when he visited Crimea in 2015 and claimed that the annexation by the Russian Federation was constitutional and falsely claimed that Ukraine and NATO would launch a nuclear strike against Russia in 2023.
6.
Yukio Hatoyama took part in founding the minor Kyowa Party in 2020, but later left the party.
7.
Yukio Hatoyama comes from a prominent Japanese political family which has been likened to the Kennedy family of the United States.
8.
Yukio Hatoyama, who was born in Bunkyo, Tokyo, is a fourth-generation politician.
9.
Yukio Hatoyama's paternal great-grandmother, Haruko Hatoyama, was a co-founder of what is known today as Kyoritsu Women's University.
10.
Yukio Hatoyama's paternal grandfather, Ichiro 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.
11.
Yukio Hatoyama is the son of Iichiro Yukio Hatoyama, who was Foreign Minister for a time.
12.
Yukio Hatoyama's mother, Yasuko Hatoyama, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corporation and heir to his significant inheritance.
13.
Yasuko Yukio Hatoyama is known as the "Godmother" within the Japanese political world for her financial contributions to both of her sons' political ambitions.
14.
In particular, Yasuko donated billions of yen when Kunio and Yukio Hatoyama co-created their previous Democratic Party of Japan in 1996 to help establish her sons' fledgling political party.
15.
Yukio Hatoyama's younger sister-in-law Emily Hatoyama who is Kunio's wife, an Australian Japanese, was a TV personality in Japan.
16.
Yukio Hatoyama graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1969 and received a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University in 1976.
17.
Yukio Hatoyama met his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, while studying at Stanford.
18.
Yukio Hatoyama worked as assistant professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology and later transferred to Senshu University as associate professor.
19.
Yukio Hatoyama ran for a seat in the Hokkaido 9th District and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 representing the ruling LDP.
20.
Kunio Yukio 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.
21.
Yukio Hatoyama remained with the party through its merger with several other opposition parties in 1998.
22.
Yukio Hatoyama was Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan before he succeeded Ozawa as party leader following Ozawa's resignation on 11 May 2009.
23.
Yukio Hatoyama was chosen by fellow party representatives on 16 May 2009, winning 124 of the 219 votes and defeating rival Katsuya Okada.
24.
Yukio Hatoyama entered his prime minister career with a high approval rating.
25.
In May 2010 he faced a possible no confidence vote, and on 2 June 2010, Yukio Hatoyama announced that he would be resigning as Prime Minister.
26.
Yukio Hatoyama faced criticism from fringes of his own party, some calling for a return to public works spending.
27.
Yukio 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.
28.
Yukio 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.
29.
Yukio Hatoyama was faced with the issue of the relocation of the American Futenma Marine Corps Air Base.
30.
Yukio Hatoyama was torn between public opinion on Okinawa and the desire to retain strong ties with Washington.
31.
In moving towards a more Asia-centered foreign policy, Yukio Hatoyama worked towards making relations better with nearby East Asian countries, even saying "the Japanese Islands don't belong to only Japanese".
32.
Yukio Hatoyama worked to deepen economic integration with the East Asian region, pushing for a free trade zone in Asia by 2020 and proposing Haneda airport as a 24-hour hub for international flights.
33.
The first few months saw an exchange of visits, including one by favored successor to China's leadership Xi Jinping, for whom Yukio Hatoyama hastily arranged an appointment with Emperor Akihito.
34.
On 2 June 2010, Yukio Hatoyama announced his resignation as Prime Minister before a meeting of the Japanese Democratic Party.
35.
Yukio Hatoyama cited breaking a campaign promise to close an American military base on the island of Okinawa as the main reason for the move.
36.
On 28 May 2010, soon after and because of increased tensions from the sinking of a South Korean navy ship allegedly by North Korea, Yukio Hatoyama had made a deal with US President Barack Obama to retain the base for security reasons, but the deal was unpopular in Japan.
37.
Yukio Hatoyama mentioned money scandals involving a top party leader, Ichiro Ozawa, who resigned as well, in his decision to step down.
38.
Yukio 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.
39.
Unlike some of the tax rioters, Yukio Hatoyama did not leave the DPJ to join Ichiro Ozawa's People's Life First party, but continued to act within the DPJ to fight against both the consumption tax increase and the restart of nuclear plants.
40.
On 9 January 2013, Yukio Hatoyama expressed a government apology to the victims of Japanese war crimes in China during a visit to Nanjing.
41.
On 21 March 2013, Yukio Hatoyama was appointed as the honorary chairman and a senior consultant of Hoifu Energy Group.
42.
Yukio Hatoyama expressed his remorse for Japan's occupation of Korea.
43.
Yukio Hatoyama continues to display his outspokenness after his retirement from politics.
44.
Yukio Hatoyama later apologized for what he said was a translation issue.
45.
In 2020, Yukio Hatoyama formed the Kyowa Party together with Nobuhiko Shuto He announced his intention to run for office in the next election.
46.
Yukio Hatoyama stepped down from the party in September 2022.
47.
On 5 February 2010, Yukio Hatoyama was awarded the Sustainable Development Leadership Award of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2010.