Paper short abstract:

Called "alien" since his early career days, former prime minister Hatoyama Yukio, has been known both for his unusual beliefs in para-science as well as for his alleged political missteps. This paper examines the relation between these two facets of his personality through archival research.

Paper long abstract:

Soon after he won the 2009 elections, Hatoyama Yukio's name adorned many non-Japanese media outlets not for his policies, but for his wife's extravagant stories of UFO experiences and past-life stories. His very short time as prime minister, which ended with a donation scandal, did not contribute much to improve his image either, and his subsequent acts of, for example, defending the annexation of Crimea or apologizing for Japan's war crimes in East Asia were not received with much praise at home. Now retired, the Japanese political world has not much to fear anymore from the "alien" Hatoyama as he used to be called, but his case still presents an interesting example of the role of "occult" thought in politics. A much less investigated subject than that of the influence of traditional religious thought on political actions or that of the political activities of new religious leaders, what I call occult thought here simply refers to beliefs often rejected by both established religions as well as modern scientific theories. Hatoyama has, for example, been in the past criticized for running study groups inside the Diet building on para-scientific topics, and had himself called for more government funds attributed to research on "ki", the classic concept of vital energy. It is the case that such activities are often dismissed as unimportant or insignificant in comparison to the social status of such an individual, but the question remains: how did Hatoyama, and by extent, other politicians around the world who have been at times accused of "irrationality" or "superstition," accommodate their beliefs with their political duties? Through archival research in the writings of Hatoyama Yukio, this paper tries to takes seriously not necessarily the "occult" allegations against Hatoyama, but the role that such "occult" discourse plays in the career of a politician of his stature. In other words, this paper investigates the relation between "occult" thought and politics in contemporary Japan.