Iichirō Hatoyama
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was a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
politician and diplomat. Between 1976 and 1977, he served as
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
under Prime Minister
Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1976 to 1978. Born in Gunma Prefecture and educated at Tokyo Imperial University, Fukuda served as an official in the Ministry of Finance for two decades before entering pol ...
. He was the son and father of two former Prime Ministers, Ichirō "Iichiro Hatoyama; Ex-Foreign Minister, 75" (obituary)
''New York Times.'' December 20, 1993.
and Yukio respectively.


Early years

Hatoyama was born in Tokyo to
Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official ...
, who was prime minister of Japan and the founder of the
Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
. Iichirō graduated from the
University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
’s
Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
in 1941. Upon graduation, he began working for the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
and served in the
navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as part of a programme that offered a shortened period of service to young, educated individuals in roles considered essential to the country. In the navy, he worked within the budget bureau. In 1942, he married Yasuko Ishibashi, daughter of the founder of the tyre manufacturing company
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...
. At end of the war, Iichirō was one of 6.6 million Japanese military personnel and civilians who were stranded overseas. At the time, this was about 8 percent of Japan's entire population. Iichirō was unable to return home until December 31, 1945.Itoh, Mayumi. (2003)
''The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership through the Generations,'' pp. 143-144.
/ref>


Career

In 1946, he returned to the Ministry of Finance and began making a place for himself in the
meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...
of the Budget Bureau. In this work, he caught the attention of men like
Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1976 to 1978. Born in Gunma Prefecture and educated at Tokyo Imperial University, Fukuda served as an official in the Ministry of Finance for two decades before entering pol ...
, who would figure prominently in later life. In due course, Iichirō was promoted to the position of Deputy Director General in 1963; and he became Director General in 1965.Itoh
pp. 144
He served as administrative Vice Minister in the Finance Ministry from 1971 to 1972. The position of vice minister is the highest rank in the civil service, comparable to that of "
permanent secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...
" in the British civil service or "
undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...
" in the civil service of the United States government. The minister is always a politician. After Iichirō's retirement in 1974, he gave in to long-standing family pressure; and his career in politics began with his election to the
House of Councilors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...
(HC) in the
Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
.Itoh
pp. 145–147
The capstone of his political career was the period in which he served as Foreign Minister in 1976–1977.


Family

Iichirō was the eldest son of
Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official ...
, who was the
Prime Minister of Japan The 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 state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
in 1955-1956. His grandfather
Kazuo Hatoyama was a Japanese lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1896 to 1897. He was the patriarch of the prominent Hatoyama family, father of Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama, great-grandfather of Prime Minister ...
was Speaker of the House of Representative in the first Imperial Diet. Despite family pressure, he was interested in building a life outside the arena of Japanese politics; and his sons also grew to become independent-minded men. Iichirō is the father of
Yukio Hatoyama is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2009 to 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Repre ...
, who was the former
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, following a win by the opposition coalition in the 2009 elections. His wife, Yasuko Hatoyama, is a daughter of Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning 'stone bridge' in ...
.Hayashi, Yuka
Japan's Hatoyama Sustains Family Political Tradition
''Wall Street Journal.'' August 1, 2009.
The couple have two sons.
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 Hatoya ...
, like his brother Yukio, may be described as a fourth generation politician and most recently the
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. The Hatoyamas have been described in the media as the "
Kennedys The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...
of Japan".


See also

* Hatoyama (disambiguation) * Hatoyama Hall


Notes


References

* Itoh, Mayumi (2003)
''The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership through the Generations''
New York: Palgrave Macmillan. , . . * 鳩山会館編 (Hatoyama Kaikan) (1996). 追想鳩山威一郎 (''Tsuisō Hatoyama Iichirō''). Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten. , . . * Tatsuki, Mariko, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, John Haskell Kemble and Thomas Elliott (1985). ''The First Century of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.''
apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km2. Overview-Twin Towns-sister Cities As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was a ...
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatoyama, Iichiro 1918 births 1993 deaths Politicians from Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Children of prime ministers of Japan Iichiro Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan Japanese diplomats Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Parents of prime ministers of Japan