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New Justice Minister Hatoyama from political blue-blood family

TOKYO, Japan - New Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks at his inaugural press conference on Aug. 27. Hatoyama is known for coming from a prominent political family. His great-grandfather Kazuo Hatoyama was a former House of Representatives speaker, while his grandfather Ichiro Hatoyama served as prime minister and his father Iichiro Hatoyama was foreign minister.

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Dissidents Hatoyama, Yosano in parliament

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran lawmakers Kunio Hatoyama (L) and Kaoru Yosano chat in the plenary room of the House of Representatives in Tokyo on March 16, 2010. Hatoyama and Yosano are at the center of a high-profile move of seeking a new party as a key national election comes up.

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Dissidents Hatoyama, Yosano in parliament

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran lawmakers Kunio Hatoyama (R) and Kaoru Yosano chat in the plenary room of the House of Representatives in Tokyo on March 16, 2010. Hatoyama and Yosano are at the center of a high-profile move of seeking a new party as a key national election comes up.

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Dissidents Hatoyama, Yosano in parliament

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran lawmakers Kunio Hatoyama (L) and Kaoru Yosano chat in the plenary room of the House of Representatives in Tokyo on March 16, 2010. Hatoyama and Yosano are at the center of a high-profile move of seeking a new party as a key national election comes up.

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Masuzoe says he told K. Hatoyama he will focus on party affairs

TOKYO, Japan - Former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe of the Liberal Democratic Party speaks to reporters in Tokyo on March 16, 2010, a day after former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama submitted his letter of resignation from LDP. Masuzoe, whom Hatoyama is seeking to enlist for a new party, said he told Hatoyama that he will focus on LDP affairs for now.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama speaks about his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to reporters near his office in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows the headquarters of Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on March 15, 2010. The LDP leadership has been rocked by the departure of veteran member Kunio Hatoyama the same day.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama leaves a press conference after announcing his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama wraps up a press conference on his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama speaks about his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to reporters near his office in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama leaves a press conference after announcing his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama speaks about his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to reporters near his office in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama wraps up a press conference on his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Tadamori Oshima, secretary general of Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo on March 15, 2010, after veteran Kunio Hatoyama left the party.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama speaks about his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to reporters near his office in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, reacts to a report that veteran lawmaker Kunio Hatoyama left the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party during a press conference at DPJ headquarters in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Ozawa denied having any intention of working with Hatoyama, the younger brother of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama's brother leaves LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran legislator Kunio Hatoyama speaks about his departure from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to reporters near his office in Tokyo on March 15, 2010. Hatoyama has already said he will work on forming a new party, denying he will join parties with his elder brother, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama unlikely to cooperate with brother

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks to reporters in front of his official residence in Tokyo on March 15, 2010, a day after his brother, Kunio Hatoyama, said he is ready to defect from the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and form a new party. The premier said he is unlikely to cooperate with his brother.

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Yukio Hatoyama, his family

TOKYO, Japan - Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, in his childhood (C) is photographed with his younger brother Kunio (R, front) and his grandfather and then Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama (back), and others in a house in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward in December 1954.

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Yukio and Kunio Hatoyama, their father Iichiro

TOKYO, Japan - (From R) Yukio Hatoyama, now president of the Democratic Party of Japan, his father and late Foreign Minister Iichiro Hatoyama, and Yukio's younger brother Kunio arrive together at parliament in July 1986.

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Bigger the sash, bigger the election win in Japan?

FUKUOKA, Japan - Veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kunio Hatoyama, wearing a wide sash bearing his name, shakes hands with his supporters in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Aug. 18, the start of the official campaign for the Aug. 30 general election. Most candidates including veteran politicians wear name sashes in elections in Japan. Many of Hatoyama's supporters wear headbands that read ''Victory,'' another practice that is commonly seen in elections in Japan.

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LDP's Hatoyama releases dove at Yasukuni

TOKYO, Japan - Former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama of Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party releases a white dove after a ceremony at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the 64th anniversary of the end of World War II. Hatoyama blasted Aso for announcing that he will refrain from visiting the war-linked shrine.

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Just-resigned Hatoyama not ruling out leaving LDP

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama, who resigned as internal affairs and communications minister on June 12, waves as he is seen off by ministry officials in Tokyo on June 15. At a news conference before he leaves the ministry, Hatoyama did not rule out the possibility of leaving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to form a new party.

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Hatoyama leaves Cabinet over Japan Post row

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Taro Aso (L) meets the press at his office on June 12 after internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama submitted his resignation to him over a high-profile row concerning the reappointment of the president of Japan Post Holdings Co.

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Hatoyama leaves Cabinet over Japan Post row

TOKYO, Japan - Internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama leaves the prime minister's office on June 12 after submitting a resignation letter to Prime Minister Taro Aso over a high-profile row concerning the reappointment of the president of Japan Post Holdings Co.

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Hatoyama leaves Cabinet over Japan Post row

TOKYO, Japan - Internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama (C) leaves the prime minister's office on June 12 after submitting a resignation letter to Prime Minister Taro Aso over a high-profile row concerning the reappointment of the president of Japan Post Holdings Co.

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National public safety commission chief succeeds Hatoyama

TOKYO, Japan - National Public Safety Commission chief Tsutomu Sato answers questions from reporters at the prime minister's office on June 12. He was appointed to double as internal affairs minister following the resignation of Kunio Hatoyama the same day.

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Hatoyama leaves Cabinet over Japan Post row

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on June 12 after submitting his resignation to Prime Minister Taro Aso. The move came after Aso decided to have Yoshifumi Nishikawa stay in the post of president of the government-owned Japan Post.

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Aso promotes 'Cool Biz' energy-saving campaign with Kariyushi wear

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso (C) wears Okinawan Kariyushi light wear at a Cabinet meeting at the Diet building June 2. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama (L) and Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano (R) also wear light clothing to promote the annual ''Cool Biz'' energy-saving campaign.

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Hatoyama issues business-improvement order to Japan Post

TOKYO, Japan - Internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks at a news conference at the ministry on April 3 after delivering a business-improvement order to Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa.

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Hatoyama issues business-improvement order to Japan Post

TOKYO, Japan - Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 3 after receiving a business-improvement order from internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama.

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Hatoyama issues business-improvement order to Japan Post

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama (L front) hands a business-improvement order to Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa (R) at the ministry on April 3. Hatoyama issued the order following Japan Post's aborted contract to sell the ''Kampo-no-yado'' nationwide resort inn network.

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Minister urges Japan Post to make Kampo inn network profitable

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama (L) hands over to Yoshifumi Nishikawa, president of Japan Post Holdings Co., a note to approve Japan Post's business program for fiscal 2009 at his office in Tokyo on March 31.

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Demolition of Tokyo Central Post Office postponed

TOKYO, Japan - This photo taken in May 2007 shows the Tokyo Central Post Office building in front of Tokyo Station. Japan Post Holdings Co. decided March 6 to postpone demolishing the post office after Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama claimed that the 78-year-old building could be a valuable cultural property.

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Japan Post, Orix agree to cancel 'Kampo-no-yado' inn network sale

TOKYO, Japan - Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa is surrounded by reporters and photographers at the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 13 after talks with communication minister Kunio Hatoyama. Nishikawa was quoted as telling Hatoyama that Japan Post and leasing firm Orix Corp. have agreed to cancel a controversial 10.9 billion yen contract for Japan Post's sale of 70 ''Kampo-no-yado'' inns and nine housing facilities to Orix.

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Japan Post, Orix agree to cancel 'Kampo-no-yado' inn network sale

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks to reporters at his ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 13 after talks with Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa. Hatoyama said Japan Post and leasing firm Orix Corp. have agreed to cancel a controversial 10.9 billion yen contract for Japan Post's sale of 70 ''Kampo-no-yado'' inns and nine housing facilities to Orix.

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G-8 calls for global legal reforms to fight cross-border crimes

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks at a joint news conference at a hotel in Tokyo on June 13 after justice and home affairs ministers from the Group of Eight nations ended their three-day meeting.

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Japan executes 4 death row inmates

TOKYO, Japan - Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama announces at a press conference April 10 that the Justice Ministry executed four death-row inmates the same day. The execution brought the total number of inmates executed under his orders to 10 in three rounds of executions since last December.

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3 inmates hanged in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka

TOKYO, Japan - Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama announces at a press conference on Feb. 1 that three death row inmates were executed at detention houses in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka earlier in the day.

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3 inmates hanged in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka

TOKYO, Japan - Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama speaks at a press conference about the execution of three death row inmates on Feb. 1. He said the three inmates were hanged at detention houses in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.

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3 inmates hanged, names disclosed 1st time

TOKYO, Japan - Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama announces the names of three death row inmates executed Nov. 7 and the locations where the executions took place during a session of the Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. This is the first time the government has released the names of inmates who had been executed.

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Justice minister tries out fingerprinting system at Narita

NARITA, Japan - Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama tries out a new fingerprinting and photographing device at Narita International Airport on Nov. 19, a day before a new law requiring the fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners entering Japan comes into force. The law is aimed at preventing terrorism but officials say fingerprints and other biometric data will be stored in a database to be checked against foreigners who have been deported from Japan and those wanted by the Japanese police. The law excludes ethnic Koreans and other permanent residents with special status, foreigners aged under 16, visitors to Japan using diplomatic or official passports and state guests.

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Victim's spouse asks gov't to set up life term without parole

TOKYO, Japan - Alberto Stucki (R), whose wife and daughter were killed in Miyazaki in 2004, hands a petition with 80,000 signatures to Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama at the Justice Ministry on Nov. 2, asking the government to set up a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Stucki, 51, a resident of Kyoto with dual Italian and Swiss nationalities, has been taking issue with the Japanese penal system in which most inmates sentenced to life in prison are later released on parole. Stucki's wife and daughter were burned to death in May 2004 after a burglar broke into their home, stole 550,000 yen and set the house ablaze. The burglar is serving a term of life in prison.

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Hatoyama re-appointed as justice minister

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama, who retained the post of justice minister in the Cabinet of new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, enters the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Sept. 25.

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LDP's Hatoyama loses to DPJ's Kan

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama of the Liberal Democratic Party lost to opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Naoto Kan in the single-seat constituency in the House of Representatives election on Nov. 9. Hatoyama, however, is certain to be elected in a proportional representation bloc.

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LDP's Hatoyama may run in constituency of DPJ's Kan

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama, a member of the House of Representatives from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaks to reporters at the LDP's headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 2 about his intention to run in the Tokyo constituency of opposition Democratic Party of Japan President Naoto Kan in the next lower house general election.

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Lower house steering committee discusses Suzuki issue

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama (C), chairman of the House of Representatives steering committee, heads to the committee's board meeting to hold discussions over a request for an arrest warrant for lawmaker Muneo Suzuki. Suzuki is suspected of having accepted a 5 million yen bribe from Hokkaido lumber firm Yamarin in August 1998 in exchange for trying to secure favorable Forestry Agency treatment.

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Lower house panel rejects resolution on dismissal of its chief

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama, chairman of the House of Representatives Steering Committee, bows at a lower house plenary session May 15 at the Diet after the session voted down an opposition resolution calling for his dismissal.

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(2)Lower house panel rejects motion on Suzuki

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Hatoyama, chairman of the House of Representatives Steering Committee, speaks to the media May 14 after voting to reject an opposition motion calling for a vote to be taken in the full lower house to have lawmaker Muneo Suzuki quit the Diet. The vote in the 25-member committee was evenly divided and committee chairman Kunio Hatoyama (seated at far end of the table) voted to reject the motion.

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(1)Lower house panel rejects motion on Suzuki

TOKYO, Japan - Members of the House of Representatives Steering Committee vote May 14 on an opposition motion calling for a vote to be taken in the full lower house to have lawmaker Muneo Suzuki quit the Diet. The vote in the 25-member committee was evenly divided and committee chairman Kunio Hatoyama (seated at far end of the table) voted to reject the motion.