Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet
93rd Cabinet of Japan
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (front row, centre) with his new cabinet inside the Kantei, September 16, 2009.
Date formed	September 16, 2009
Date dissolved	June 8, 2010
People and organisations
Emperor	Akihito
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Deputy Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Member parties	Democratic Party   Social Democratic   People's New Party
Status in legislature	Coalition government HoR: Supermajority 327 / 480 HoC: Majority 124 / 242
Opposition parties	Liberal Democratic Party New Komeito Party Japanese Communist Party Your Party New Party Nippon New Party Daichi
Opposition leader	Sadakazu Tanigaki (LDP)
History
Election(s)	2009 general election
Predecessor	Asō Cabinet
Successor	Kan Cabinet

The Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet governed Japan from September 2009 to June 2010, following the landslide victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the election on 30 August 2009. The election marked the first time in Japanese post-war history that voters delivered the control of the government to the opposition. The cabinet was also the first since Hata Cabinet in 1994 that included no members of the LDP.

Political background

Yukio Hatoyama and the DPJ came into power after their historic victory in the 2009 general election. The DPJ won more than 300 House of Representatives seats in the election and inflicted the worst defeat for a sitting government in modern Japanese history to the LDP. ^[1] Hatoyama entered office with high approval ratings amid high public expectations to recover the Great Recession-hit economy and reform Japan's stagnant politics. ^[2] These high expectations contributed to a drop in popularity of the government. The government became more unpopular after it broke a campaign promise of closing down an American air base in Okinawa Prefecture. Hatoyama initially moved to close down the base after the election, but relented to the pressure from the American government. Hatoyama also cited the escalation of tension in the Korean Peninsula following the sinking of South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan as a factor that contributed to the base being kept. ^{[3] [4]} The continuous drop in the government's approval ratings led to Hatoyama's resignation on 2 June 2010.

During his short premiership, Hatoyama managed to pass a relatively significant amount of progressive reforms, including the introduction of new social benefits for families, a marked increase in the education budget, the abolition of public high school tuition fees and welfare expansion. ^{[5] [6]} Japan also developed a more Asia-focused policy and a warmer relations with China under Hatoyama, culminated with a visit by then- Vice President Xi Jinping to Tokyo in January 2010. ^[7]

Election of the prime minister

16 September 2009

House of Representatives Absolute majority (241/480) required
Choice		Vote
		Caucuses	Votes
	Y Yukio Hatoyama	DPJ (308), SDP (7), Your Party (5), PNP (3), Independent (2), NPN (1), NPD (1), Independent [Speaker] (1)	327 / 480
	Masatoshi Wakabayashi	LDP (118), Independent [Vice Speaker] (1)	119 / 480
	Natsuo Yamaguchi	Kōmeitō (21)	21 / 480
	Kazuo Shii	JCP (9)	9 / 480
	Takeo Hiranuma	Hiranuma Group independents (3), Independent (1)	4 / 480
Source: 172nd Diet Session (House of Representatives) (roll call only lists individual votes, not grouped by caucus)

16 September 2009

House of Councillors Absolute majority (119/237) required
Choice		Vote
		Caucuses	Votes
	Y Yukio Hatoyama	DPJーShin-Ryokufūkai (117), SDP (5), Independents [Keiko Itokazu and Ryūhei Kawada] (2)	124 / 242
	Masatoshi Wakabayashi	LDP (84)	84 / 242
	Natsuo Yamaguchi	Kōmeitō (21)	21 / 242
	Kazuo Shii	JCP (7)	7 / 242
	Blank ballot	Independent [Vice President] (1)	1 / 242
	Did not vote	Independent [President] (1), LDP (1)	2 / 242
	Vacant		2 / 242
Source: 172nd Diet Session (House of Councillors) (lists individual votes grouped by caucus)

Lists of ministers

   Democratic
   Social Democratic
   People's New
R = Member of the House of Representatives
C = Member of the House of Councillors

Cabinet

References

External links

• List of Ministers of the Hatoyama Cabinet - Prime Minister's Office (Kantei)