Hatoyama Cabinet

The Hatoyama Cabinet governed Japan from September 2009 to June 2010, following the landslide victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the election on 30 August 2009. The election marked the first time in Japanese post-war history that voters delivered the control of the government to the opposition. The cabinet was also the first since 1994 that included no members of the LDP.

Hatoyama Cabinet

93rd Cabinet of Japan
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (front row, centre) with his new cabinet inside the Kantei, September 16, 2009.
Date formedSeptember 16, 2009
Date dissolvedJune 8, 2010
People and organisations
Head of stateEmperor Akihito
Head of governmentYukio Hatoyama
Deputy head of governmentNaoto Kan
Member partyDPJ–SDP–PNP Coalition
Status in legislatureHoR: DPJ–SDP–PNP Coalition Supermajority
HoC: DPJ–SDP–PNP Coalition majority
Opposition partyLiberal Democratic Party of Japan
Opposition leaderSadakazu Tanigaki
History
Election(s)2009 general election
PredecessorAso Cabinet
SuccessorKan Cabinet

Political background

Yukio Hatoyama and the DPJ came into power after their historic victory in the 2009 general election. The DPJ won more than 300 House of Representatives seats in the election and inflicted the worst defeat for a sitting government in modern Japanese history to the LDP.[1] Hatoyama entered office with high approval ratings amid high public expectations to recover the Great Recession-hit economy and reform Japan's stagnant politics.[2] These high expectations contributed to a drop in popularity of the government. The government became furtherly unpopular after the it broke a campaign promise of closing down an American air base in Okinawa. Hatoyama initially moved to close down the base after the election, but relented to the pressure from the American government. Hatoyama also cited the escalation of tension in the Korean Peninsula following the sinking of South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan as a factor that contributed to the base being kept.[3][4] The continuous drop in the government's approval ratings led to Hatoyama's resignation on 2 June 2010.

During his short premiership, Hatoyama managed to pass a relatively significant amount of progressive reforms, including the introduction of new social benefits for families, a marked increase in the education budget, the abolition of public high school tuition fees and welfare expansion.[5][6] Japan also developed a more Asia-focused policy and a warmer relations with China under Hatoyama, culminated with a visit by then-Vice President Xi Jinping to Tokyo in January 2010.[7]

Election of the Prime Minister

16 September 2009
House of Representatives
Absolute majority (241/480) required
Choice Vote
Caucuses Votes
YYukio Hatoyama DPJ (308), SDP (7), Your Party (5), PNP (3), Independent (2), NPN (1), NPD (1), Independent [Speaker] (1)
327 / 480
Masatoshi Wakabayashi LDP (118), Independent [Vice Speaker] (1)
119 / 480
Natsuo Yamaguchi Kōmeitō (21)
21 / 480
Kazuo Shii JCP (9)
9 / 480
Takeo Hiranuma Hiranuma Group independents (3), Independent (1)
4 / 480
Source: 172nd Diet Session (House of Representatives) (roll call only lists individual votes, not grouped by caucus)
16 September 2009
House of Councillors
Absolute majority (119/237) required
Choice Vote
Caucuses Votes
YYukio Hatoyama DPJーShin-Ryokufūkai (117), SDP (5), Independents [Keiko Itokazu and Ryūhei Kawada] (2)
124 / 242
Masatoshi Wakabayashi LDP (84)
84 / 242
Natsuo Yamaguchi Kōmeitō (21)
21 / 242
Kazuo Shii JCP (7)
7 / 242
Blank ballot Independent [Vice President] (1)
1 / 242
Did not vote Independent [President] (1), LDP (1)
2 / 242
Vacant
2 / 242
Source: 172nd Diet Session (House of Councillors) (lists individual votes grouped by caucus)

Lists of ministers

  Democratic
  Social Democratic
  People's New
R = Member of the House of Representatives
C = Member of the House of Councillors

Cabinet

Cabinet of Yukio Hatoyama from September 16, 2009 to June 8, 2010 [8]
Portfolio Minister Term
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Naoto Kan R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
Minister of State for Promotion of Local Sovereignty
Kazuhiro Haraguchi R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Justice Keiko Chiba C September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Foreign Affairs Katsuya Okada R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Finance Hirohisa Fujii R September 16, 2009 – January 7, 2010
Naoto Kan R January 7 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Tatsuo Kawabata R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare
Minister of State for Pension Reform
Akira Nagatsuma R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hirotaka Akamatsu R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Masayuki Naoshima C September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
Seiji Maehara R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of the Environment Sakihito Ozawa R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of Defence Toshimi Kitazawa C September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa
Hirofumi Hirano R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission
Minister of State for the Abduction Issue
Hiroshi Nakai R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for Disaster Management Seiji Maehara R September 16, 2009 – January 12, 2010
Hiroshi Nakai R January 12 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for Financial Services
Minister of State for Postal Reform
Shizuka Kamei R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate
Minister of State for Gender Equality
Mizuho Fukushima C September 16, 2009 – May 28, 2010
Hirofumi Hirano R May 28 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Naoto Kan R September 16, 2009 – January 7, 2010
Tatsuo Kawabata R January 7 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for the New Public Commons
Minister of State for Civil Service Reform
Minister of State for National Policy
Yoshito Sengoku R September 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010
Minister of State for Government Revitalization Yoshito Sengoku R September 16, 2009 – February 10, 2010
Yukio Edano R February 10 – June 8, 2010

References

  1. Stockwin, J.A.A. (2011). The rationale for coalition governments In Alisa Gaunder (Ed.) Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics, Taylor & Francis, p. 36–47.
  2. Tabuchi, Hiroko (16 September 2009). "Japan's New Prime Minister Takes Office, Ending an Era". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  3. The Yomiuri Shimbun. "'Obama nod' prompted Fukushima dismissal". Yomiuri Shimbun. Japan. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  4. "Obama, Hatoyama Satisfied With US Airbase Relocation – White House". The Wall Street Journal. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  5. "A Clouded Outlook". Time. 2 August 2010.
  6. "Manifesto" (PDF). Democratic Party of Japan. 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  7. Fackler, Martin (1 December 2009). "Japan's Relationship With U.S. Gets a Closer Look". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  8. 第93代-鳩山内閣-平成21年9月16日成立
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