Yasuko Hatoyama

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (September 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:鳩山安子]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|鳩山安子}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Yasuko Hatoyama (鳩山 安子, Hatoyama Yasuko, 11 September 1922 – 11 February 2013) was the wife of former Japanese Foreign Minister Iichirō Hatoyama and mother of former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama and Diet (Japan's bicameral legislature) member Kunio Hatoyama.^[1] Hatoyama funded the establishment of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).^[2]

Hatoyama was born Yasuko Ishibashi (石橋 安子, Ishibashi Yasuko) in present-day Kurume, Fukuoka. Her father, Shojiro Ishibashi, founded the Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest tiremaker,^[1][2] in 1930. She became heir to Ishibashi's considerable inheritance upon his death in the 1970s.^[2] She attended middle and high school in Tokyo, during which time she met former Iichirō Hatoyama, who later became Foreign Minister. They were married at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo in 1942.

The couple had two sons, both of whom have pursued successful political careers. Kunio Hatoyama served as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Minister Taro Aso.^[2] Yukio Hatoyama defeated Aso in the 2009 general election and became the Prime Minister.^[2]

The Hatoyama family has been called "Japan's Kennedy family".^[3]

Hatoyama contributed significant amounts of her inheritance to help finance the political and career goals of both her sons.^[2] She donated billions of yen in 1996 when her two sons, Kunio and Yukio, co-founded the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).^[2] Her contributions helped to fund and establish the new political party.^[2] She was nicknamed the "Godmother" within the Japanese political world for her financial contributions to the political ambitions of her family.^[2]

Hatoyama resided in a home for the elderly adjacent to St. Luke's International Hospital in Chuo, Tokyo. She died there on February 11, 2013 at the age of 90. Hatoyama was survived by her two sons, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren at the time of her death.

• Itoh, Mayumi (2003). The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership through the Generations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-403-96331-2, ISBN 978-1-403-96331-4. OCLC 248918078.