Japan's Hatoyama Resigns, Nikkei Jumps

as Japanese yen dumps.

Prime Minister Hatoyama, resigned after only 8 months on the job over his campaign finance scandal and his handling of the US base relocation in Okinawa. He was the first prime minister from the Democratic Party of Japan, who won the last year's Lower House election by the populace demanding "change". After endless missteps since his inauguration, he was perceived as ineffective leader when he was steamrolled by the Obama administration into acquiescing to the US base plan. Party Secretary Ozawa, the kingmaker, also resigned from the post.

I have been critical of the Hatoyama administration on this blog as a mere 'copycat' of the US Democrats and the Obama administration. I'd say good riddance for the Japanese. Goodbye Tokyo University and Stanford University elite "space alien" (Hatoyama's nickname).

The news was released on 10:13 AM Japanese Standard Time. Yen tanked on the news, Nikkei jumped. (On USDJPY chart, higher number means weaker yen, just so you know. It shows how many yen it takes to buy one US dollar.)



(Nikkei update)

Euphoria didn't carry into the afternoon session. It's down 40 points for the day..

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