Yukio Hatoyama
Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山 由紀夫) was prime minister of Japan.
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History
Yukio's paternal grandfather, Ichirou Hatoyama (鳩山 一郎), was prime minister and a founder of the LDP.
He was elected to the diet in 1986 for the LDP.
In 1993 he led a breakaway group to found the New Party Sakigake. In 1996 he again led a breakaway group to found the Democratic Party of Japan. He served as party leader from 1999 to 2002, then resigned during the merger with the Liberal Party.
Ahead of the 2009 general elections, Ichirou Ozawa stepped down as party leader. Hatoyama beat out rival Katsuya Okada (岡田 克也) in the ensuing leadership contest. The DPJ then won a landslide victory, catapalting Hatoyama to government.
Hatoyama struggled to maintain the energy of the DPJ government and faced a no confidence vote as early as May 2010. Ahead of a House of Councillors election in July, he resigned on June 2nd.
Hatoyama opposed key policies of the subsequent DPJ governments, especially over consumption tax hikes and Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. He was suspended and in 2012 expelled from the party for these positions.