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The cover of Yukio Hatoyama's record. 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 ($375) in an online auction², a Japanese tabloid reported.

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 ($375) 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 premier⁴, will formally take office on September 16 following his Democratic Party's stunning⁵ victory in an election last week where it trounced the long-ruling Liberal Democrats⁶.

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 tune⁷ 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 lyrics⁸ of the song."

Japanese media have been digging up video of Hatoyama's formerly⁹ 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 troupe¹⁰ who has also been grabbing headlines for once writing that she traveled to Venus in a space ship.

Hatoyama will make his international political debut¹¹ as Japan's prime minister at the United Nations later this month, although it is unclear if any musical performances are planned.

日本下任首相鸠山由纪夫可能从未想过他20年前录制的一首歌有一天会成为拍卖网站的大热门，而且拍价不菲。

据日本一家小报报道，这首名为《鼓起勇气，飞吧，和平鸽》的单曲碟近日以3.5万日元（合375美元）的价格在一个在线拍卖网站拍出。该唱片录制于1988年，当时鸠山由纪夫首次入选议会。

这首歌的歌名巧妙地运用了Hatoyama名字的谐音，Hatoyama的前半部分Hato写成表意字意为“鸽”，其发音和日语中的“心”相近。

现年62岁的鸠山由纪夫出生富裕，是日本前首相的外孙。他所领导的日本民主党在上周的大选中击败了长期执政的自民党，取得压倒性胜利，他将于本月16日正式就任日本首相。

这张唱片的封面以黄色为主调，封面上的鸠山笑容满面，看起来比现在年轻得多。这张唱片的另一副本日前出现在雅虎日本拍卖网站，起拍价为5万日元。雅虎网上的拍卖将于本周晚些时候结束，但到目前为止还没有人参加竞拍。

据鸠山家乡所在的日本北部北海道的一家新闻网站称，这首歌曲的作者、65岁的牙医浅沼明石自掏腰包，将这张唱片录制了100份，送给鸠山的支持者们。

日本共同通讯社援引浅沼的话说：“我从来没想过有朝一日这首歌曲会受到关注。现在我希望鸠山由纪夫能像歌中所唱的那样，带领大家走上幸福之路。”

这段时间日本媒体纷纷曝料鸠山早年少为人知的具有艺术气质的一面。

周一的电视节目就播出了他和妻子鸠山幸同唱音乐剧的镜头。鸠山幸曾是一个全女子音乐剧团的演员。她曾在书中写道（自己入睡后）感觉灵魂像乘坐飞船飞往了金星，并因此成为各媒体头条。

鸠山将于本月晚些时候作为日本首相出席联合国大会，这将是他首次亮相国际政治舞台，不过目前尚不清楚是否有音乐剧表演的安排。

Vocabulary:

a pretty penny:可观的一笔钱

vinyl: phonograph records considered as a group 唱片；压制唱片的材料

artsy: of or relating to artists or the fine arts 艺术的；和艺术相关的

debut: a first public appearance, as of a performer 首次露面；初次登台