Japan's next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, probably never thought a song he recorded 20 years ago would one day fetch a pretty penny on
online auction sites.
The vinyl single, "Take Heart - Fly, Dove of Peace", recorded in 1988 when Hatoyama was first elected to parliament, recently sold for 35,000 yen (5) in an online auction, a Japanese tabloid reported.
The title is a pun on Hatoyama's name, the first half of which is written with an ideograph meaning "dove" and which sounds like the
Japanese pronunciation of "heart".
Hatoyama, 62, who is the wealthy grandson of a former premier, will formally take office on September 16 following his Democratic Party's stunning victory in an election last week where it trounced the long-ruling Liberal Democrats.
Another copy of the yellow-jacketed record, showing a much younger, grinning Hatoyama, has appeared on a Yahoo! Japan auction with a starting price of 50,000 yen. The auction closes later this week, but so far has no bids.
Teruaki Asanuma, the 65-year-old dentist who wrote the song, used his own funds to make 100 copies of the album and gave them to Hatoyama supporters, according to an Internet news site based in Hatoyama's home district of Hokkaido in northern Japan.
"I never imagined that there would be a day when this tune would come into the spotlight," Kyodo news agency quoted Asanuma as saying. "Now I hope he will help to guide everyone to happiness as suggested in the lyrics of the song."
Japanese media have been digging up video of Hatoyama's formerly less-known artsy side.
TV shows on Monday showed him singing in a musical with his wife Miyuki, a one-time performer in an all-female musical theater troupe who has also been grabbing headlines for once writing that she traveled to Venus in a space ship.
Hatoyama will make his international political debut as Japan's prime minister at the United Nations later this month, although it is unclear if any musical performances are planned.
日本下任首相鳩山由紀(jì)夫可能從未想過他20年前錄制的一首歌有一天會(huì)成為拍賣網(wǎng)站的大熱門,而且拍價(jià)不菲。
據(jù)日本一家小報(bào)報(bào)道,這首名為《鼓起勇氣,飛吧,和平鴿》的單曲碟近日以3.5萬日元(合375美元)的價(jià)格在一個(gè)在線拍賣網(wǎng)站拍出。該唱片錄制于1988年,當(dāng)時(shí)鳩山由紀(jì)夫首次入選議會(huì)。
這首歌的歌名巧妙地運(yùn)用了Hatoyama名字的諧音,Hatoyama的前半部分Hato寫成表意字意為“鴿”,其發(fā)音和日語中的“心”相近。
現(xiàn)年62歲的鳩山由紀(jì)夫出生富裕,是日本前首相的外孫。他所領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的日本民主黨在上周的大選中擊敗了長(zhǎng)期執(zhí)政的自民黨,取得壓倒性勝利,他將于本月16日正式就任日本首相。
這張唱片的封面以黃色為主調(diào),封面上的鳩山笑容滿面,看起來比現(xiàn)在年輕得多。這張唱片的另一副本日前出現(xiàn)在雅虎日本拍賣網(wǎng)站,起拍價(jià)為5萬日元。雅虎網(wǎng)上的拍賣將于本周晚些時(shí)候結(jié)束,但到目前為止還沒有人參加競(jìng)拍。
據(jù)鳩山家鄉(xiāng)所在的日本北部北海道的一家新聞網(wǎng)站稱,這首歌曲的作者、65歲的牙醫(yī)淺沼明石自掏腰包,將這張唱片錄制了100份,送給鳩山的支持者們。
日本共同通訊社援引淺沼的話說:“我從來沒想過有朝一日這首歌曲會(huì)受到關(guān)注。現(xiàn)在我希望鳩山由紀(jì)夫能像歌中所唱的那樣,帶領(lǐng)大家走上幸福之路。”
這段時(shí)間日本媒體紛紛曝料鳩山早年少為人知的具有藝術(shù)氣質(zhì)的一面。
周一的電視節(jié)目就播出了他和妻子鳩山幸同唱音樂劇的鏡頭。鳩山幸曾是一個(gè)全女子音樂劇團(tuán)的演員。她曾在書中寫道(自己入睡后)感覺靈魂像乘坐飛船飛往了金星,并因此成為各媒體頭條。
鳩山將于本月晚些時(shí)候作為日本首相出席聯(lián)合國(guó)大會(huì),這將是他首次亮相國(guó)際政治舞臺(tái),不過目前尚不清楚是否有音樂劇表演的安排。