The Islamic Republic has a long history of putting words in the mouths of foreign visitors. But the Japanese don’t know that and Hatoyama has come under an avalanche of criticism back home.
Hatoyama has even been publicly admonished by his own party after Iran quoted him as criticizing the UN’s nuclear watchdog for “double standards.”
After a face-to-face meeting with Ahmadi-nejad, the president’s office put out a statement stating that Hatoyama had told the president Tehran was not being treated properly by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“International trust-building and respecting regulations are important issues for the world community,” Hatoyama said, according to the statement issued by Ahmadi-nejad’s office.
The purported quota from Hatoyama went on: “They should be seriously pursued given the double standards by the IAEA towards some nations, including Iran, which is not fair.”
Hatoyama denied making any such comments and said Tehran had “completely fabricated” them. “I have made no comments that deviate from the stance of the Japanese government,” the Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying on his return to Tokyo Monday.
But Japanese generally assumed that what the Islamic Republic said was accurate, and Hatoyama swiftly came under fire from Tokyo, which complained he was taking a stand at odds with the country’s official position.
“Japan respects the IAEA’s role in solving nuclear-related issues,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters. “Japan is asking Iran to thoroughly cooperate with the IAEA so that it can solve pending issues over its nuclear program.”
Hatoyama, who has emerged as something of a loose cannon since being forced from office, was already under a cloud for the Iran trip after Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba expressed concerns that it could undermine international action against Tehran.
“The [Japanese] government is taking a consistent position that it would be better if he had not gone at a time like this, even if it is a personal trip,” Fujimura said.
Ahmadi-nejad’s office said the president told Hatoyama, “Iran and Japan can exert a common effort to create a world without atomic weaponsÖ. Difficult but humanitarian efforts will win in the end.”
Hatoyama, the millionaire scion of an influential family, swept his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to a stunning election victory in September 2009, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.
But his premiership was blighted by a reputation for crippling indecision and his party dumped him after just nine months in office.
Despite his status as a senior adviser to the DPJ, he has struggled to find a role in public life since joining the ever-swelling ranks of former Japanese prime ministers.