Japan's new first lady in backseat diplomacy

Japan's new first lady in backseat diplomacy

AFP September 23, 2009, 7:42 am

NEW YORK (AFP) - Japan's usually cheerful and sometimes quirky new first lady, Miyuki Hatoyama, conducted some backseat diplomacy Tuesday, promoting her husband's political slogan -- fraternity -- at school.

The 66-year-old former actress accompanied her husband, Yukio Hatoyama, who was appointed prime minister last Wednesday and is making his global debut to grapple with tough agendas ranging from climate change to nuclear disarmament.

During a visit to a Japanese school in New York, Miyuki sought to overcome her eccentric image fuelled after she made headlines for saying that her soul had travelled by UFO to Venus and that she had met Tom Cruise in a past life.

"I'm afraid that the memory of September 11 still largely dwells in people's hearts in New York," Miyuki said in her speech to students. "In the end, people want peace. Peace is it. We cannot have peace with fights and anger."

Miyuki continued that "fraternity" -- a political philosophy adopted by her husband -- was an answer.

"Hatoyama is always saying, 'Let's create a society of fraternity.' He aims for that," Miyuki said. "Fraternity means sharing the happiness and sadness of others. That's the spirit of fraternity."

Miyuki, dubbed "Mrs Occult" by Time Magazine, talked about her trip to Venus in a book published last year. Her colorful remarks have been splashed across newspapers as far afield as India, Israel, Britain and the United States.

Hatoyama, 62, head of the center-left Democratic Party of Japan, was voted in by parliament two and a half weeks after his party's stunning election victory changed the country's political landscape.