Funding scandal: Hatoyama seen surviving fuss

TOKYO: New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is facing harsh opposition grilling in parliament over a political funding scandal, but looks likely to survive the fuss as it stands.

Fresh off an August election victory that gave his party nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament's lower house, Hatoyama might seem almost immune to an opposition hammering.

But with an election for the less powerful upper chamber looming next year, damage to his support rates would be worrying as he struggles with policy challenges, including how to fund ambitious programs without inflating Japan's huge debt and managing strained ties with Tokyo's security ally Washington.