Miyuki Hatoyama
Miyuki Hatoyama (鳩山 幸, Hatoyama Miyuki, born June 28, 1943) is married to the former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama. Originally an actress by profession, Hatoyama later worked as a stylist, interior designer and cookbook author.[1]
Miyuki Hatoyama | |
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鳩山 幸 | |
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Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan | |
In role 16 September 2009 – 8 June 2010 | |
Monarch | Akihito |
Prime Minister | Yukio Hatoyama |
Preceded by | Chikako Aso |
Succeeded by | Nobuko Kan |
Personal details | |
Born | Shanghai, China | 28 June 1943
Spouse | Yukio Hatoyama |
Children | 1 |
Occupation | Actress |
In an interview, then Prime Minister-designate Yukio Hatoyama credited Miyuki with his professional success and praised her enthusiasm.[1] Hatoyama indicated that Miyuki would take an unusually prominent role for the wife of a Japanese prime minister during his administration.[2]
Biography
Early life
Hatoyama was born on 28 June 1943 in Shanghai, China, to devout Protestant parents while the city was under Japanese occupation during World War II.[3] She was raised in the Japanese city of Kobe.[3]
Career
Hatoyama was an actress in the all-female Takarazuka Revue during the 1960s.[1] She quit the troupe and her stage career when she was in her mid-20s and moved to the United States.[3]
Hatoyama has authored a number of cookbooks. Among her books authored is Spiritual Food, which focuses on Hawaiian macrobiotic recipes.[3] She has since published another book titled Very Strange Things I've Encountered. In the book, she claims "While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus... It was a very beautiful place, and it was very green."[4][5] She wrote that her ex-husband told her it was "probably just a dream" but that Yukio would "surely say, 'Oh, that's great.'"[4][6]
Marriage and family
Miyuki met her future husband, Yukio Hatoyama, in San Francisco, California, while Yukio was a student at Stanford University.[3] Miyuki and Yukio married in 1975, after Miyuki divorced her previous husband,[3] a restaurateur.[7] The couple has one son, Kiichiro, who as of 2009 was an engineering researcher studying in Russia.[1]
Personal life
![](../I/First_lady_Kim_Yoon-ok%252C_right%252C_serves_kimchi_to_Miyuki_Hatoyama%252C_wife_of_Japan%E2%80%99s_Prime_Minister_Yukio_Hatoyama%252C_while_making_kimchi_together_(4347816896).jpg.webp)
Hatoyama often appears on Japanese talk shows, discussing a range of topics including food, religion and politics.[1][8] She has listed her interests as picking vegetables, pottery and creating art from stained glass.[1] Hatoyama appeared on a Japanese talk show wearing a shirt made from coffee sacks which she acquired in Hawaii.[1] In another interview, she claimed that she knew Tom Cruise in a former incarnation – when he was Japanese – and is now looking forward to making a Hollywood movie with him. "I believe he'd get it if I said to him, 'Long time no see', when we meet."[4] She has also claimed to "eat the sun" every day to gain energy.[7] and that her "soul went to Venus while her "body was asleep".[1][8]
An avid hallyu fan, Hatoyama has often mentioned her love of Korean culture, especially South Korean drama and cuisine. She has even stated that her youthful appearance can be attributed to watching South Korean drama and claims to eat kimchi every day with her husband. Some have commented that her enthusiasm for all things Korean has helped improve relations between Japan and South Korea. When Hatoyama visited the country with her husband for an official state visit in October 2009, she received applause from the crowd as she walked down the street in Seoul's Insadong area.[9]
She has served as her husband's chief stylist and image coordinator during his political career and campaign during the 2009 general election.[3] Hatoyama coordinates what her husband wears for public events and styles his hair.[3]
References
- Klaus, Mary (2009-08-24). "Miyuki Hatoyama is a wife to break the mould of Japanese first ladies". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- Klaus, Mary (2009-08-31). "Japanese election: Hatoyama's agenda includes tax breaks and distance from US". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- Suzuki, Miwa (2009-08-24). "Japan's first lady hopeful an outgoing TV lifestyle guru". France 24. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2009-08-31 – via KCRG-TV.
- Popham, Peter (2009-09-03). "I have been abducted by aliens, says Japan's first lady (Oh, and she also knew Tom Cruise in a previous life)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- "PROFILE: Mrs. Hatoyama the most colorful first lady Japan has produced", Kyodo News, September 16, 2009.
- "Japan's new first lady says rode UFO to Venus", Reuters, September 2, 2009.
- "Profile: Miyuki Hatoyama", BBC News, September 16, 2009.
- "Japan's First Lady: 'UFO Took Me To Venus'", Sky News, September 3, 2009.
- http://news.msn.co.kr/article/read.html?cate_code=1400&article_id=200912160355121022&pos=right_many