Japan elections (1947 -) A LDP defector who now heads the opposition Democratic party, Hatoyama is a reserved former academic who earned the nickname “alien” for his distinctive appearance and sometimes other-worldly style.
Hatoyama, who won leadership of the Democratic party after his predecessor was forced to step down because of a fund-raising scandal, has vowed to reduce the influence of bureaucrats over policy and introduce policies based on his political philosophy of “fraternal love”. His battle to unseat Taro Aso as prime minister has unsettling historical echoes. It was Hatoyama’s grandfather, Ichiro Hatoyama – also the head of a Democratic party – who toppled Aso’s grandfather, then prime minister Shigeru Yoshida
