The steps the new Japanese government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been taking are reminiscent of the early days of former President Roh Moo-hyun's administration, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said Sunday.

The newspaper pointed out that the two administrations resemble each other most in foreign policy, and particularly in relations with the U.S. The Hatoyama administration has criticized ousted Liberal Democratic governments for being at Washington's beck and call and has been calling for a more equal relationship. That, the paper said, is strikingly similar to the Roh administration's pledge not to be shy about telling Washington what it thinks.

Also, Hatoyama's vision of an East Asian Community centered on South Korea, China and Japan is reminiscent of  Roh's vision of Korea as a "balancer" for peace in Northeast Asia.

Roh drew political and ideological support from young Koreans and the labor unions while it toed a liberal policy line. Hatoyama is also seen as being essentially liberal. The economic policies of the two are also similar. Roh favored equal distribution over growth, while Hatoyama supports "households over businesses."

Prof. Yukiko Fukagawa of Waseday University was quoted as saying the two leaders were elected under similar circumstances. "The Roh Moo-hyun administration's support base came from the economically disenfranchised class of people who were created by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, while the Hatoyama administration resulted from the social friction caused by restructuring moves under the Junichiro Koizumi government," Fukagawa said.