Five facts about the prime minister-to-be Yukio Hatoyama

Here are five quick facts about Yukio Hatoyama, the guy who will be replacing Taro Aso as prime minister:

1. He's a 4th-generation politician hailing from a family sometimes referred to as the Kennedys of Japan.
2. His maternal grandfather founded and inherited Bridgestone.
3. He has a PhD in managerial engineering from Stanford.
4. The Washington Post describes him as "stiff, shy and very rich."
5. Unlike Taro Aso, he can read and write the Japanese language. We hope.

Related posts:
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Taro "I can't read kanji" Aso publicly proves incompetence in Japanese language
Aso to be featured in erotic video game
Aso depicted as a local hero in Akihabara
Japanese politics: The man who can explain it all and make you laugh

Comments

[Kenzo]

The Washington Post describes him as "stiff, shy and very rich."

That's not a fact. It's something written by the foreign media.

Unlike Taro Aso, he can read and write the Japanese language

I dislike Aso as much as anyone else, but the fact is that anyone who gives tons of press conferences makes mistakes. Again, not a fact.

I would love to see two real facts added to this post.

[Lisa]

Kenzo, in #4 I did state that it was the WaPo's opinion, and #5 is obviously just silly. Perhaps you'd like to share your own "two real facts" in your comment instead of picking mine apart, that would be a much more constructive use of the comments section.

[Haro!]

Fact: He's no Junichiro Koizumi. That man had awesome hair.

[Kenzo]

Sorry, didn't get the irony and mine came across well less so. Anyway:

Stuff I haven't seen really reported elsewhere:

1. He's the second PM to be born after WW2, after Abe.

2. He served as deputy chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.

3. A funding scandal helped bring down that administration, and Hatoyama is currently facing one of his own.

[awooga]

"His maternal grandfather founded and inherited Bridgestone."

How did he found and inherit the company?

[Lisa]

@awooga: Good catch! His grandfather founded it and his mother inherited it.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=566895194]

How about:
His wife wrote a book about her trip to Venus in a UFO
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5812DV20090902