Yukio Hatoyama - Prime Minister

Prime Minister

See also: Japanese general election, 2009

Hatoyama entered his prime minister career with high approval rate. The DPJ promised to end lavish spending on public works projects associated with LDP and to divert that money to tax cuts and subsidies for households. Expectations were high that he would break strongly with the policies of the LDP.

Hatoyama's popularity soon began to falter after the DPJ struggled to meet the high expectations they set in the midst of a sliding economy. In May 2010 he faced a possible no confidence vote, and on 2 June 2010, Hatoyama announced that he would be resigning as Prime Minister.

Although Yukio Hatayoma was prime minister for less than a year, he had a wide range of achievements to his name by the time that he left office. Amongst his achievements included:

  • The introduction of a state subsidy for families with young children.
  • The abolition of public high school tuition fees.
  • The introduction of an individual household income support project for rice farmers.
  • The restoration of the Additional Living Support Allowance for Single-Mother Households.
  • A big increase in social spending, with the social security budget, including spending on childrearing, nursing care, and medical care, increased by 9.8% as child allowances were introduced and the remuneration schedule for medical services was increased for the first time in ten years.
  • An 8.2% increase in the education budget.
  • An expansion in the student scholarship system to cover more students.
  • The extension of employment insurance to all workers.
  • A reduction in medical expenses for unemployed persons.
  • The elimination of age-discriminatory practices in remuneration schedules and medical services.
  • The expansion of assistance for the “development of public rental housing with annexed facilities for supporting the elderly and childrearing households” to include “public rental housing with annexed medical facilities”.
  • The introduction of free welfare services and equipment for low-income persons with disabilities.

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