Kunio Hatoyama

is a Japanese politician, currently serving as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Biography

Hatoyama was born in Tokyo in 1948. His father is Iichiro Hatoyama, a bureaucrat who later became a third-generation politician, and son of Ichirō Hatoyama, who became the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Prime Minister of Japan between 1954 and 1956.

Hatoyama attended the Faculty of Law at University of Tokyo and graduated with a degree in political science. He wanted to get into politics right away and became an aide to Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. He ran for the House of Representatives in 1976 as a member of the New Liberal Club and entered the LDP after winning.

In 1993 he left the LDP and became a conservative independent, saying he wanted to form a new party to oppose the LDP. He was briefly Minster of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata.

In 1994 he helped form the now-defunct New Frontier Party, which he left in 1996 to form the Democratic Party of Japan with his brother, Yukio Hatoyama, and became the Vice Leader of the opposition. Divisions between the brothers eventually led him to leave the DPJ in 1999, and he re-joined the LDP in 2000 after running unsuccessfully for the seat of the Governor of Tokyo.

He joined the Abe cabinet as Justice Minister in August 2007, and maintained his post through the September inauguration of the cabinet of Yasuo Fukuda. Serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki was executed during his tenure. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7458254.stm|title=Three prisoners hanged in Japan|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-06-17|accessdate=2008-06-18] After the execution, he was called "Grim Reaper" by the "Asahi Shimbun", which made him angry. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jrdWLAtvGumDzDLuAW5HkXgAn8nQ "Japan minister livid at 'Grim Reaper' jibe over executions"] , Agence France-Presse, 20 June 2008.]

Subsequently, in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008, Hatoyama was moved to the post of Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. [ [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080925TDY01303.htm "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2"] , "The Yomiuri Shimbun", 25 September 2008.]

He is a member of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union.

Controversies

His position on the death sentence

In September 2007, Hatoyama caused a controversy after making a remark during a press conference, where he suggested a system in which execution of death row inmates could take place without him having to sign the final execution order, as currently required by Japanese law. He came under criticism from opponents to capital punishment such as Amnesty International Japan for his attitude, which said that he was trying to avoid accountability as well as showing disregard for human rights. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071011a6.html Death penalty foes hit Hatoyama over accountability snub] Japan Times]

His remark about the Bali bombing

In October 2007, during a news conference, Hatoyama attempted to justify plans to fingerprint and photograph all foreigners at immigration by claiming that an unidentified "friend of a friend", who is an al-Qaida terrorist involved in the October 2002 bombing in Bali, was able to sneak in and out of Japan repeatedly over the following years using different passports and wearing a fake moustache. He added that he had received prior warning to stay away from the centre of Bali because it would be bombed. The remarks were made during a news conference at Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, where he was trying to explain the necessity of new anti-terrorism measures being implemented whereby all foreigners entering the country will be fingerprinted and photographed.

Later that day, he gave another press conference in which he retracted his remarks, saying instead that it was actually his friend who had received a prior warning about the bombing, and that he only found out about the warning three or four months after the bombing. He also issued a statement denying any connections to members of Al-Qaida, as well as apologising to prime minister Fukuda for the confusion he caused. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/30/japan.alqaeda/index.html Minister: 'Friend of a friend' in al Qaeda] CNN] [ [http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420785 Machimura warns Hatoyama over al-Qaida remark] Japan Today] [ [http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071029p2a00m0na052000c.html Hatoyama justifies taking prints with 'friend of a friend' in al-Qaida claim] Mainichi Daily News] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7067450.stm Japan minister in al-Qaeda claim] BBC]

References

External links

*ja icon [http://www.hatoyamakunio.org/ Official website]