Hatoyama is a unique figure in Japan's politial history. First, he was elected Prime Minister of Japan last August leading Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), whose victory ended more than 50 years of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Second, Hatoyama is known as "the alien" from the outer space because of his unreadable character and unprecedented engineering background with a PhD from Stanford .
The news that Hatoyama joined Twitter to talk about his life as Prime Minister was a sensation in Japan, especially among the young generation, because during the old rule of LDP, politics was always done secretly whether it is in Nagata-cho or in first-class Japanese restaurants near Akasaka. Then people thought, "No wonder, it's that alien guy."
However, it is not the reason why he joined Twitter. Rather, this was based on their careful strategy to gain continued support from Japanese voters, who tend to be impatient with their leaders, to stay in power long enough to implement the objectives he had promised to the nation.
According to media, the critical factor for DPJ's victory last year was the support from voters older than 40's. These voters used to support the conservative LDP but converted after being fed up with the scandal in which more than 50,000,000 pension records were lost permanently due to LDP's poor management. On the other hand, younger voters in the 20's and 30's favored the LDP because they are too young to worry about their pension, which they might not receive anyway.
Thus, Hatoyama and DPJ's marketing team started this innovative marketing approach targeting those younger voters who supported the conservatives during the election.
One month after joining Twitter, he has about 260,000 followers today. If this strategy succeeds, the alien will add another recognition to his resume.
You can find him on Twitter @hatoyamayukio
(Unfortunately, currently Japanese only)
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