Tsutomu Hata

Tsutomu Hata
羽田 孜
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 28 April 1994 – 30 June 1994
Monarch	Akihito
Preceded by	Morihiro Hosokawa
Succeeded by	Tomiichi Murayama
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan
In office 9 August 1993 – 28 April 1994
Prime Minister	Morihiro Hosokawa
Preceded by	Masaharu Kotoda
Succeeded by	Yohei Kono
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 9 August 1993 – 28 April 1994
Prime Minister	Morihiro Hosokawa
Preceded by	Kabun Muto
Succeeded by	Koji Kakizawa
Minister of Finance
In office 5 November 1991 – 12 December 1992
Prime Minister	Kiichi Miyazawa
Preceded by	Toshiki Kaifu Acting
Succeeded by	Yoshiro Hayashi
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office 27 December 1988 – 3 June 1989
Prime Minister	Noboru Takeshita
Preceded by	Takashi Sato
Succeeded by	Hisao Horinouchi
In office 28 December 1985 – 22 July 1986
Prime Minister	Yasuhiro Nakasone
Preceded by	Moriyoshi Sato
Succeeded by	Mutsuki Kato
Personal details
Born	24 August 1935 Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Democratic Party (1998–present)
Other political affiliations	Liberal Democratic Party (Before 1993) Renewal Party (1993–1994) New Frontier Party (1994-1996) Sun Party (1996–1998) Good Governance Party (1998)
Spouse(s)	Ayako Hata
Children	Yuichiro Hata
Alma mater	Seijo University

Tsutomu Hata (羽田 孜 Hata Tsutomu, born 24 August 1935) is a Japanese politician and was the 80th Prime Minister of Japan for 9 weeks in 1994.^[1] He was a member of the lower house representing Nagano #3 district. He was elected 14 times, retiring in 2012.^[2]

He was born in Tokyo, a son of the Liberal Democratic Party Member of Parliament Bushiro Hata. Hata graduated from Seijo University and was employed by the Odakyu bus company from 1958 to 1969. In 1969, he entered the House of Representatives of Japan, representing Nagano Prefecture as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He rose to become a top lieutenant in the Tanaka/Takeshita faction in the 1980s.

In 1991, he served as Minister of Finance under Kiichi Miyazawa. He left the LDP in 1993 to found the Japan Renewal Party with longtime LDP ally Ichirō Ozawa, which became part of Morihiro Hosokawa's anti-LDP coalition government later that year. Hata served as foreign minister in the Hosokawa cabinet.

On 28 April 1994, Hosokawa resigned and Hata became prime minister. However, the Japan Socialist Party had recently left the coalition, destroying its majority in the Diet. Rather than face a vote of no confidence, Hata elected to resign in June, allowing SDP leader Tomiichi Murayama to take over the position on 30 June.

A number of progressive reforms were introduced during Hata's tenure as prime minister. A law passed on the 17th of June 1994 to amend the Law concerning Stabilization of Employment for Older Persons aimed to encourage employers to plan continuous employment for older employees after the age of 60, as well as to prohibit employers from setting a compulsory retirement age lower than 60 and appoint public corporations as centres “for the practical use of older workers’ experience.” On the 22nd of June 1994, the Support Centre for Employment of the Disabled was established by law to provide practical advice, vocational training, and information to disabled workers and employers. A health insurance amendment law passed on the 29th of June 1994 exempted employees from the requirement to pay National Health Insurance fees during child-care leave.^[3]

After the Shinseito merged into the Shinshinto in late 1994, Hata contested the leadership against Ichiro Ozawa. After losing this contest, he and twelve other Diet members formed the splinter Sun Party (太陽党 Taiyōtō). The Sun Party in January 1998 became a part of the Good Governance Party which itself was subsumed by the Democratic Party of Japan in April 1998.

Hata's son, Yuichiro, is a member of the House of Councillors of Japan. He was appointed the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on 4 June 2012.^[4]

Honours

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (29 April 2013)^[5]

References

1. "Constructive Chaos in Japan". The New York Times. 29 June 1994. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
2. DPJ website Tsutomu Hata – Profile 2011 Retrieved on 12 August 2012
3. http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_sortby=SORTBY_DATE&p_country=JPN&p_country_all_any=ALL&p_keyword_all_any=ALL&p_start=201&p_increment=50
4. Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet website The Cabinet – Yuichiro Hata Retrieved on 15 August 2012
5. The Japan Times "Foreign dignitaries honored with spring decorations," 10 May 2013

Further reading

• Sanger, David E. "Man in the News; Cautious Leader in Japan: Tsutomu Hata." The New York Times. April 23, 1994.