"New Representative Japanese" January 1st. Ichiro Hatoyama "A life of fighting illness is a spiritual struggle."

Ichiro Hatoyama(January 1, 1883 [Meiji 16] – March 7, 1959 [Showa 34]) was a Japanese politician and lawyer. He served as the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th Meiji 16 Prime Minister of Japan. He died at the age of 76.Prime Minister.

Ichiro Hatoyama was a man of diverse hobbies, such as golf and Go, and because he approached each one seriously, he held unique views on everything. During the post-war period of purges from public office, he deepened his sense of gratitude toward nature through his life in Karuizawa. He also recalls this life as a farmer in detail in his memoirs. Just as he embraced the life of a farmer in Karuizawa, Hatoyama consistently displayed an attitude of calmly adapting to his environment while biding his time for a comeback.

Believing that people inevitably grow tired of things and that "politicians should not remain in power for too long," Hatoyama had decided even before taking on the major task of restoring diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union that he would "retire once the negotiations were completed." And when the negotiations ended successfully, he resigned from the premiership as promised. This was also the case when he resisted the Tojo Cabinet's wartime criminal law special bill and decided to step back from the front lines of politics; Hatoyama's decisions regarding his career were always graceful. This grace, combined with his human depth, was likely one of the factors behind the "Hatoyama Boom" that occurred during the era of the Shigeru Yoshida Cabinet, which started after succeeding the Hatoyama Cabinet.

Shigeru Yoshida's successor candidate Taketora Ogata led the Liberal Party, and Hatoyama's Democratic Party merged in 1955 to form the Liberal Democratic Party. Hatoyama, who had seized power from Yoshida, became the first president of the Liberal Democratic Party. That LDP lost power in the 2009 general election, ushering in an era where Shigeru Yoshida's grandson, Taro Aso, or Ichiro Hatoyama's grandson, Yukio Hatoyama, would hold the reins of government. Truly, what goes around comes around.

There are two major currents within Japan's conservative forces. They are Shigeru Yoshida's Japan Liberal Party and Ichiro Hatoyama's Japan Democratic Party. Nobusuke Kishi, who led the conservative merger, formed the Liberal Democratic Party. The Liberal Party faction, which was conscious of its war responsibility, was the conservative mainstream, and the Kōchikai is positioned within that lineage. On the other hand, the pre-war restorationist Democratic Party faction was considered the conservative sideline (later becoming the LDP mainstream). The person who drafted the LDP platform, which advocated for the establishment of an independent Constitution, was Kishi's top disciple, Takeo Fukuda, and this leads to the Seiwa-kai. It has been pointed out that this lineage had deep ties with the CIA and the Unification Church (Shusei Tanaka and Makoto Sataka, "Discussing Tanzan Ishibashi" <Shueisha Shinsho>).

I have finished reading Ichiro HatoyamaMemoirs'. It frankly records his feud with his rival Shigeru Yoshida, as well as the human relationships and chaos in the political world shortly after the war. The end of the war, his promise to Shigeru Yoshida, the purge of public officials, a cerebral hemorrhage, the overthrow of the Yoshida Cabinet, the birth of the Hatoyama Cabinet, the conservative merger, Japan-Soviet negotiations, and finally his retirement—his journey emerges as a continuous story.

While the fathers of great figures are sometimes great and sometimes not, mothers are generally great in many cases. I was deeply impressed by the educational philosophy and efforts of Ichiro Hatoyama's mother, Haruko. From 3:30 in the morning until 7:00 before school, for about three to three and a half hours, Hatoyama was taught three subjects—English, Sinology, and arithmetic—by his mother. "Until a child develops a spontaneous desire to learn, you must force them to study so they do not fall behind others. However, once that desire emerges, they can study on their own, so at that point, you should not interfere." "If I can leave my child with the desire to work, that is a sufficient gift, even if I leave nothing else. It is an infinite gift."

Words from his father, Kazuo Hatoyama. "One thing at one time. Unless you concentrate your whole body and soul on what you are doing, you cannot expect to complete your goal."

Shigeru YoshidaRegarding his feud with , Hatoyama states the following: "Thinking back on this and that, it is certain that the lifting of my purge was blocked and delayed by the Yoshida Cabinet." "The fact is, because the Yoshida Cabinet was playing various petty tricks, it was only natural that it was not lifted easily."

Hatoyama CabinetThe greatest task of the was the Japan-Soviet negotiations. "They showed an attitude that they might concede the Habomai and Shikotan islands to Japan, but when it came to Etorofu and Kunashiri islands, they were adamant and would not agree." On the day he decided to go to Moscow, Hatoyama wrote, "Once I have completed the Japan-Soviet negotiations, I will retire. This has been my long-cherished wish." His state of mind at that time was truly like a clear mirror and still water. Hatoyama liked to write the phrase "Clear mirror and still water, passionate heart and cold eyes" in calligraphy.

Ichiro Hatoyama was strongly influenced by the works of Coudenhove-Kalergi. There had been revolutions for equality and freedom, but there had been no revolution for fraternity. However, for democratic politics, this "fraternity revolution" is necessary. This is because democracy is based on the idea of respecting not only one's own freedom but also the freedom and personality of others.

I read the essay "My Political Philosophy" by Yukio Hatoyama, published in the September 2009 issue of 'Voice'.

"Fraternity" refers to the "fraternity" in the French Revolution's slogan "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," that is, fraternité. When Ichiro Hatoyama translated the book by Coudenhove-Kalergi, who is called the "father of the EU," he translated this fraternité as "fraternity." Kalergi says, "Without fraternity, freedom leads to the chaos of
anarchy, and equality leads to tyranny." Fraternity was also a militant theory for confronting both left and right
totalitarianism. Ichiro Hatoyama upheld "fraternity" as a banner to oppose the Socialist Party and Communist Party, and to overthrow the Yoshida-style bureaucratic politics to establish a party-member-led Hatoyama administration. Freedom is prone to falling into the law of the jungle, and equality can easily degenerate into bad equality. The principle that overcomes the excesses of both is fraternity.

I have visited the Hatoyama Hall which Ichiro built in 2005. This magnificent hall, described by Terunobu Fujimori (a professor at the University of Tokyo) as having "an English-style exterior standing before a rose garden, stained glass featuring dove motifs, and an Adam-style reception room," is also known as the "Hatoyama Palace." In the garden of the Hatoyama Hall, there stands a statue of the couple Kazuo and Haruko, which is the work of Fumio Asakura.

Ichiro Hatoyama suffered a cerebral hemorrhage just as his political purge was about to be lifted. However, he faced this illness, managed his physical condition as if taming it, and took up residence in what is now the Hatoyama Hall, eventually winning the seat of Prime Minister. One cannot help but nod deeply at his words, "Life with illness is a spiritual struggle." "I believe that the habit of taking a nap is the greatest driving force that has kept me going this far." In a long life of battling illness, he must have realized that more than caring for the body, it is important not to let one's spirit break. I am greatly convinced by his conclusion that battling illness is more of a spiritual struggle than a physical problem.

After his retirement, Hatoyama stated the following: "For an elderly person, living a long life is actually a source of pain. Since one must continue to live for a long time after all hope and all joy have vanished, one cannot endure it unless one changes their way of thinking about life significantly." A passage from Natsume Soseki's "The Poppy" graces the end of this memoir: "When one person becomes earnest, it doesn't just save that person. It saves the world."

For elderly people who have lost hope and joy after retirement to live a long life, they must change their outlook on life significantly to endure it—Ichiro Hatoyama left behind insights that are relevant to today's super-aging society. Ichiro Hatoyama was truly a master of life.