On Saturday, May 23rd, a record 391 Maharishi University of Management graduates where honored to experience an amazing graduation talk by Dr. Yukio Hatoyama, the former Prime Minister of Japan.
Dr. Hatoyama is a member of a
distinguished Japanese family, which has been compared with the Kennedy family
in the US. His family has a long history of government service. His
great-grandfather was the speaker of the House of Representatives in Japan’s
legislature in the late 19th century. His grandfather was Prime Minister of
Japan in the 1950's and helped secure membership in the United Nations for
Japan. His father was Japan’s foreign minister. His younger brother served as
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.
His family also has a long
history in higher education. His great-grandfather, after stepping down from
government service, became President of Waseda University, and his great
grandmother co-founded Kyoritsu Women’s University. At the graduation, Dr. Hatoyama received an
Dr. Hatoyama holds an
undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo and a PhD in
industrial engineering from Stanford. He was a professor of engineering at
Tokyo Institute of Technology and Senshu University.
His political career began in
1986, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. He was elected Prime
Minister in 2009, and despite his relatively short time in office, he has a
long list of achievements, including greater spending on education and student
scholarships and free support services for people with disabilities. Under his
leadership, Japanese relations with China became more cordial.
Please enjoy photos of the event here.
