= Yukio Hatoyama = '''Yukio Hatoyama''' ('''鳩山 由紀夫''') was [[Japan/PrimeMinisters|prime minister of Japan]]. <> ---- == History == Yukio's paternal grandfather, '''Ichirou Hatoyama''' ('''鳩山 一郎'''), was prime minister and a founder of the [[Japan/LiberalDemocraticParty|LDP]]. He was elected to the diet in 1986 for the LDP. In 1993 he led a breakaway group to found the [[Japan/NewPartySakigake|New Party Sakigake]]. In 1996 he again led a breakaway group to found the [[Japan/DemocraticPartyOfJapan|Democratic Party of Japan]]. He served as party leader from 1999 to 2002, then resigned during the merger with the [[Japan/LiberalParty1998|Liberal Party]]. Ahead of the 2009 general elections, [[Japan/IchirouOzawa|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. ---- CategoryRicottone