ABSTRACT
The Hatoyama government was started on December 10, 1954. Democratic Party Vice President Shigemitsu served as both foreign minister and deputy prime minister in the new government. Hatoyama had been purged by Occupation authorities in 1946 immediately before he would have become prime minister. In Eisaku Sato’s eyes, however, Hatoyama was a man without principle, someone who had repeatedly joined and left the Liberal Party before his final departure. Sato was likely scornful of the media and public for praising such a man. Hatoyama’s Democratic Party had 123 seats in the House of Representatives, making it the second-largest party. Sato faced a difficult electoral fight as his trial for the Shipbuilding Scandal was still ongoing. Sato’s brother Kishi was now part of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership. As such, Sato focused on the future and patiently waited for his opportunity to come. In this we can glimpse the mentality that came to be known as the “politics of waiting”.
