ニュース 2010/02/10 Hatoyama comments to reporters on Ishikawa leaving DPJ and appointment of Edano On February 10, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama responded to reporters’ questions on various issues, including news reports that DPJ Diet member Tomohiro Ishikawa had made up his mind to leave the party, and the appointment of Yukio Edano as Minister of State for Government Revitalization. Hatoyama was first asked for his response to news reports that Ishikawa had decided to resign his membership of the DPJ. He said that he had not heard anything directly from Ishikawa himself, and added, “Basically, it is down to [Ishikawa] himself to make up his own mind as to whether he should stay or go, and it is my guess that he is considering coolly and calmly what he should do.” Next, Hatoyama was asked, in relation to his earlier comment that he had decided to appoint Yukio Edano as Minister of State for Government Revitalization, in order to “restore the people’s trust”, how he viewed the trust placed in the Hatoyama government and the DPJ by the people. Hatoyama replied, “I believe it was through the budget review process that we were best able to demonstrate to the public the shape of politician-led government and a new mode of government which is open to the people.” He added that the DPJ administration has not been able to respond to the expectations of the people in every respect, and explained he had appointed Edano “with the second round of the budget review in mind, but also with the intention of demonstrating a stance true to the beliefs of the DPJ to the public.” Hatoyama was to celebrate his 63rd birthday the following day, and he took this opportunity to give his impression of the year in which the DPJ had succeeded in realizing a change of government and his aspirations for the coming year. He looked back over past events, saying, “We spend a long time calling for a change of government, but that also gave us time to consider what kind of Japan we would like to create, so I think this enabled [the public] to show their approval for the way in which politics would change [under a DPJ government].” He then went on to express his aspirations for the future, stressing, “Through the day-to-day efforts [of our administration] I would like to demonstrate fully to the Japanese people that politics can change in an even more dramatic way.”