WIT Life #98: 鳩山おろし
Anecdote Article, Article/Journalism, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life 
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
This morning’s news was buzzing with the announcement that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will be stepping down from his position. This makes him the fourth PM in four years to quit, a statistic that will likely lead to some self-reflection in Japan. The 2 main reasons cited for his resignation were 1) 普天間問題 (Futenma mondai or the fate of the Futenma Marine Corps Air base on Okinawa) and 2) 政府と金 (seifu to kane or government and money, the investigations being carried out regarding Hatoyama’s political financing).
As for the former, Hatoyama directly apologized to Okinawans for his waffling on the matter and the loss of faith he had caused as a result. When on the street interviews were conducted with Okinawa residents, the response was largely one of disappointment and regret that Hatoyama was cutting and running. In terms of the latter, Hatoyama pledged to “return to a DPJ that separates government and money and to deal with the issue properly.”
The title of this post is 鳩山おろし (Hatoyama oroshi or “Down with Hatoyama”), referring to the belief that Hatoyama was pushed out of office. Ironically, Hatoyama had criticized Asao oroshi when this former PM was ousted. However, many believe that it was less a case of “Down with Hatoyama” and more one of “Down with Ozawa,” referring to DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa known as its behind the scenes power broker. He will also resign, and it is said that it was Hatoyama who needed less convincing and who was primary in convincing Ozawa to go along with it. The thumbs up pose shown in this image is even said to allude to Hatoyama’s acknowledgment that he was able to pull this off.
Hatoyama’s replacement will be chosen on Friday, and possible candidates include party veterans Finance Minister Naoto Kan and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada. Doubts have been expressed as to how much things will actually change despite another leadership switch. Some concerns that have been raised regarding how Japan’s political instability will affect its international stature, how much this will contribute to really solving domestic problems, and the overall approval rating of the party which will be revealed during elections to be held on July 11. Coverage in the NYT can be found here.
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