Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama received a courtesy call from Mr. Katsura Sanshi, a rakugo performer, at the Prime Minister's Office. The courtesy call was joined by Mr. Hirofumi Hirano, Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister of Land，Infrastructure，Transport and Tourism, among others.

At the beginning, Mr. Katsura Sanshi presented Prime Minister Hatoyama with a variety of commemorative gifts. When handing a calligraphy board and a package of ningyo-yaki, a small snack cake baked in the shape of dove, to Prime Minister Hatoyama, Mr. Katsura Sanshi asked a riddle: "What is the relationship between Prime Minister Hatoyama and ningyo-yaki in the shape of dove? The answer is: the dove is filled with tasty bean paste."^*

Prime Minister Hatoyama said, "Gorufu Yoakemae and Osaka Rejisutansu^* are masterpieces. I listened to the story of Gorufu Yoakemae more than 100 times. In fact I enjoyed it yesterday and the day before yesterday, too." The meeting thus took place in a friendly atmosphere.

*The Chinese character that is read "Hato" is a homonym for the Chinese character that means "dove" and, likewise, "bean paste" is a homonym for "plan."

*Rakugo stories created by Mr. Katsura Sanshi.