His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to send a congratulatory message to Yukio Hatoyama on the occasion of his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Japan.

In the message, His Majesty extended his warmest congratulations to the new premier upon his appointment as Prime Minister of Japan.

The people and government of Brunei Darussalam greatly value their long-standing relations with Japan, said His Majesty and added that he looked forward to working with Yukio Hatoyama to further enhance the close partnership in the endeavour to build upon the shared peace and prosperity that the region enjoys.

In ending his message, His Majesty conveyed his best wishes for success to the new premier in his new post.

The 62-year-old president of the Democratic Party of Japan is the grandson of Ichiro Hatoyama, who served as prime minister from 1954 to 1956 and co-founded the long-ruling Liberal Democrats, who Hatoyama ousted from power when he led his own party to victory in parliamentary elections last month, AP reported.

He studied engineering at the prestigious University of Tokyo and earned two masters degrees and a PhD at Stanford University before starting a teaching career. He is only the second Japanese prime minister since World War II to hold a doctorate. - Borneo Bulletin (17th September 2009)