The Democratic Party won the August
2009 Japanese general election in a landslide, ushering in the first non-
Liberal Democratic-led government since 1994 and marking the first time a party other than the LDP won a parliamentary majority since 1952. Yukio Hatoyama became Prime Minister, and initially recorded approval ratings of over 70%. However, early struggles and scandals implicating Hatoyama and DPJ secretary-general
Ichirō Ozawa caused the cabinet's approval to decline to 50% by the new year. The government continued to struggle to reduce the
budget deficit and implement their policy pledges. Throughout his tenure, Hatoyama also attempted to negotiate with the
United States to
relocate the Futenma military base outside of Okinawa, but failed to make progress. He admitted defeat at the end of May, prompting the pacifist
Social Democratic Party to withdraw from the governing coalition, damaging the government's legislative position. By this time, Hatoyama's approval rating had fallen to around 20% with disapproval approaching 70%. These factors, combined with the upcoming
upper house elections, prompted him to announce his resignation. Ozawa simultaneously resigned as DPJ secretary-general. ==Candidates==