First ladies watch out for Japanese bombshell

  • Post

  • 3 September 2009

  • Posted by Alastair Campbell

  • 7

Litttle did I know, blogging a few days ago on the potential significance of a change of government in Japan, that the new Prime Minister would be bringing with him a wife who was once abducted by aliens. Not only that, but it seems she knew Tom Cruise in a previous life (she says he was Japanese at the time) and she hopes to make a film with him in the future. Let us be honest - we are used to Japanese Prime Ministers being invisible, let alone their spouses, yet in Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of incoming PM Yukio, we have someone who, were she British, would fill more column inches than Cherie, Sarah, Carla and Michelle combined. So what else to tell you? She is described as a 'lifestyle guru.' So was Carole Caplin. But Mrs Hatoyama is the consort not the friend. 'Lifestyle guru' brings to mind the time Tory MP Nick Soames called me to say if he was called at Prime Minister's Questions he intended to ask TB 'what is a lifestyle guru and do I need one?' Sadly, he wasn't called. Mrs Hatoyama has written cookery books, been a dancer and an actresss, is a divorcee, loves wearing her own clothes, including a dress she made from coffee sacks. But it is the abduction by aliens - they took her to Venus in a UFO, she has written in a book - that takes her into a league of her own. She was married to someone else then, and he told her it was a dream. She suggests her current husband - the PM - would have taken her journey at face value.   In any event, Mr Hatoyama's first international summit promises to be quite a gas. I hope Sarah will twitter regularly. I hope Carla will sing. As for Cherie, I was always a bit wary of Carole and all that New Age stuff. She always said I over-reacted. How the Japanese government spin doctors handle Mrs Hatoyama - bear in mind one of his central pledges is to curb the power of bureaucrats - could make for an interesting sideshow. ** I am grateful to The Independent, which I picked up in the Eurostar terminal, for the above information. The other stand-out article was about John Prescott, and his planned tour of schools to highlight the need for greater action on climate change. The man is indefatigable.

7 responses to “First ladies watch out for Japanese bombshell”

  1. ‘Mrs Hatoyama has written cookery books, been a dancer and an actresss, is a divorcee, loves wearing her own clothes’

    So she and I have at least one thing in common – I love wearing my own clothes, as well; I didn’t realise this was so unusual, do Labourites have a communal wardrobe? This may explain why Prezza always looks so rumpled – last up, worst dressed?

  2. JP is indeed similar to HMS Indefatigable, one of the Battlecruisers blown up at Jutland. A Battlecruiser typically had the same size Guns as a Battleship, but, in order to obtain more speed, much thinner armour.

    They could dish it out, but they couldn’t take it !

  3. JP in schools? Fantastic! As someone from the teaching profession, I know that children understand and get a message better from people who tell it like it is, seem to be genuine, and engage them with questions – which I am sure JP will do. Other politicians who speak with a rhetoric of old that veils things – they won’t be interested in at all!

  4. Looking at your diaries, Caplin was never going to win you over. She’s just the kind of person who rubs you the wrong way. As far as Miyuki goes, I’ll never cease to be baffled by intelligent and powerful men who marry the silliest of women.

    ** Where would Labour be without JP?

  5. Is this the same JP who is flying to China this week to deliver a lecture on global warming? Great idea jetting halfway round the world and back to talk about the need to cut carbon emissions….has he not heard of teleconferencing…Is this the same JP who “pretended” to take a train after giving a speech on Public Transport?
    This man has no credibility just like most of his colleagues, though i was impressed by Ed Milliband who replied to my tweet when I criticised him on climate change..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

500 campbell farage

Alastair Campbell’s diary: Why is Farage so keen to protect Russia’s right to lie and cheat?

Reform's leader is protesting too much as he wails about free speech in the face of Putin’s disinformation... Continue

29 September 2026

208. Mustafa Suleyman: Is AI Actually Conscious?

Can Artificial Intelligence stay subordinate? Is Anthropic’s 100-Page constitution creating dangerous AI autonomy? Should AI models be granted legal personhood, rights, or financial compensation? C... Continue

28 September 2026

Why Nuclear War Is More Likely Than You Think (with Carlo Rovelli)

Why have we stopped talking about the risk of nuclear war when the risk is greater than ever? What is a ‘nuclear winter’ and why are nuclear exchanges such extreme risks for the future of humanity... Continue

24 September 2026

574. Germany’s Political Disaster and Can the Lib Dems Fight Back?

As the far-right Alternative for Germany wins another regional election, wiping out the ruling Christian Democratic Union in former Chancellor Angela Merkel's own backyard, will Friedrich Merz face th... Continue

24 September 2026

499 campbell rose

Alastair Campbell’s diary: I met a hero of Gaza in a cinema queue

A new documentary lets Victoria Rose and other doctors describe the horrors they have witnessed... Continue

23 September 2026

573. Burnham and Carney vs. Trump, and the Diana Dispute

As Burnham meets Trump face-to-face for the first time at the UN General Assembly, will he adopt Mark Carney’s or Keir Starmer’s approach to dealing with the US President? With Carney receiving a ... Continue

23 September 2026

207. Gordon Brown: How to Fix a Fracturing World

What did Gordon Brown learn from leading the UK through the global financial crisis? Why do so many citizens today not belong to any civic or religious group, and how does that impact our politics? Ho... Continue

21 September 2026

The Greatest Threat Humans Just Can’t Stomach with Yuval Noah Harari

Episode 2 is available right now for TRIP Plus members. Sign up at therestispolitics.com What can the Aztec Empire's catastrophic failure to understand Cortés and the Spanish conquistadors teach us ... Continue

18 September 2026