Yamaguchi 4th district

Japanese parliamentary constituency

Yamaguchi 4th District

Parliamentary constituency
for the Japanese House of Representatives

Numbered map of Yamaguchi Prefecture
single-member districts

Prefecture| Yamaguchi
Proportional District| Chūgoku
Electorate| 256,464 (2017)[1]
Major settlements| Shimonoseki and Nagato
Current constituency
Created| 1996
Party| LDP
Representative| Shinji Yoshida

Yamaguchi 4th district (山口県第4区 Yamaguchi-ken dai-yon-ku) is a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It is located in Western Yamaguchi and consists of the cities of Shimonoseki and Nagato. The seat was held by former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe until his assassination in July 2022. As of September 2011, 266,456 voters were registered in the district, giving its voters well above average (347,878 voters per district) vote weight.[2] Unlike many prefectures where the capital is also the most populous city, Yamaguchi's major city is Shimonoseki, located at the western tip of Honshū and adjacent to Kyushu island's Fukuoka-Kitakyūshū metropolitan area which lies just south across the Kanmon Straits.

Yamaguchi is home to the Kan Abe \- Nobusuke Kishi-Shintarō Abe (non-prime minister, father of Shinzo Abe)-Eisaku Satō prime ministerial family whose members have represented the prefecture in the Diet for much of the postwar era and the Giichi Tanaka prime ministerial family that produced its first two elected governors. Western Yamaguchi formed the four-member 1st district until the electoral reform of the 1990s, its representatives included Shintarō Abe, Shinzō Abe (former Prime Minister of Japan) and Tatsuo Tanaka, but also other prominent conservatives such as finance minister Yoshirō Hayashi or Takeo Kawamura who went on to become Chief Cabinet Secretary in the 2000s.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) usually won the district three seats to one. In the electoral reform, the 1st district was split up into the single-member 3rd and 4th districts. In the first post-reform election of 1996, the 4th district was contested by Shinzō Abe and Takaaki Koga, himself a former Liberal Democrat who in 1993 took the opposition seat in the 1st district from the Socialists for the Renewal Party. But Abe won, and easily held onto the seat from then on. He was elected LDP president and Prime Minister in 2006 against Tarō Asō and Sadakazu Tanigaki in succession to Junichiro Koizumi (Kanagawa 11th district), but resigned after one year.

In 2012, the party – in opposition since 2009 – once more elected Shinzo Abe as the third LDP president not to become prime minister immediately after his election. Abe then subsequently won the 2012 general election in a landslide victory against the DPJ of Yoshihiko Noda (Chiba 4th district), returning the LDP to power (with coalition partner New Komeito, the LDP have a two-thirds majority and can break a deadlock in the National Diet) and became prime minister again.

## List of representatives

[edit]

Member  | Party  | Dates  | Electoral history  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Shinzo Abe | Liberal Democratic | 20 October 1996 –
8 July 2022  | Elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2003.
Re-elected in 2005.
Re-elected in 2009.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2017.
Re-elected in 2021.
Assassinated.  |
Chief Cabinet Secretary
(2005–2006)
Prime Minister of Japan
(2006–2007; 2012–2020)
Vacant | 8 July 2022 – 24 April 2023
Shinji Yoshida | Liberal Democratic | 25 April 2023 – present  | Elected to finish Abe's term.  |

## Election results

[edit]

2023[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP | Shinji Yoshida | 51,961  | 63.5  | 6.2
| CDP | Yoshifu Arita | 25,595  | 31.3  |
| Independent | Yoriko Ohno  | 2,381  | 2.9  | 10.8
| Seijika Joshi  | Ai Watanabe  | 1,186  | 1.4  |
| Independent | Hideyuki Takemoto  | 734  | 0.9  |
Turnout | 81857  | 34.71  | 13.93
| LDP hold
2021 Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP | Shinzō Abe | 80,448  | 69.7  | 2.9
| Reiwa | Katsushi Takemura | 19,096  | 16.6  | New
| Independent | Yoriko Ohno  | 15,836  | 13.7  | New
Margin of victory  | 61,352  | 53.17  | 5.23
Turnout | 115,380  | 48.64  | 8.95
| LDP hold | Swing | 2.9  |
2017[4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP | Shinzō Abe | 104,825  | 72.6  | 3.7
| Kibo | Fujita Tokioo  | 18,567  | 12.9  | New
| JCP | Hiroaki Nishioka  | 13,721  | 9.5  | 3.6
| Independent | Kurotawa Atsuhiko  | 6,687  | 4.6  | New
| Independent | Akihiro County  | 645  | 0.4  | New
Margin of victory  | 86,258  | 58.40  | 4.74
Turnout | 147,702  | 57.59  | 5.03
| LDP hold | Swing | 3.7  |
2014[4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP | Shinzō Abe  | 100,829  | 76.3  | 1.9
| JCP | Sadayoshi Yoshida  | 17,358  | 13.1  | 4.0
| Independent \- PLP | Toshie Watanabe  | 14,018  | 10.6  | New
Margin of victory  | 83,471  | 63.14  | 2.29
Turnout | 132,205  | 52.56  | 6.89
| LDP hold | Swing | 1.9  |
2012[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP[6] | Shinzō Abe  | 118,696  | 78.2  | 13.9
| DPJ | Shintarō Zaima  | 19,336  | 12.7  | 18.4
| JCP | Norio Higaki  | 13,815  | 9.1  | 4.5
Margin of victory  | 99,360  | 65.43  | 31.7
Turnout | 151,847  | 59.45  | 11.6
| LDP hold | Swing | 13.9  |
2009[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP  | Shinzō Abe  | 121,365  | 64.3  | 9.3
| DPJ – PNP | Takako Tokura  | 58,795  | 31.1  | 11.4
| JCP  | Daisuke Kisaki  | 8,725  | 4.6  | 2.1
Margin of victory  | 62,570  | 32.73  | 20.34
Turnout | 191,199  | 71.05  | 2.11
| LDP hold | Swing | 9.3  |
2005[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP  | Shinzō Abe  | 137,701  | 73.6  | 6.1
| DPJ  | Takashi Katō  | 36,847  | 19.7  | 19.9
| JCP  | Daisuke Kisaki  | 12,499  | 6.7  | 1.5
Margin of victory  | 100,854  | 53.07  | 13.11
Turnout | 190,032  | 68.94  | 3.93
| LDP hold | Swing | 6.1  |
2003[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP  | Shinzō Abe  | 140,347  | 79.7  | 8.0
| SDP | Jun'ichirō Kojima  | 21,202  | 12.0  | 12.0
| JCP  | Hiroshi Ikenoue  | 14,438  | 8.2  | 20.1
Margin of victory  | 119,145  | 66.18  | 22.76
Turnout | 180,044  | 65.01  | 0.03
| LDP hold | Swing | 8.0  |
2000[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP  | Shinzō Abe  | 121,835  | 71.7  | 17.4
| JCP  | Hiroshi Ikenoue  | 48,068  | 28.3  | 17.3
Margin of victory  | 73,767  | 43.42  | 24.23
Turnout | 169,903  | 65.04  | 1.72
| LDP hold | Swing | 17.4  |
1996[11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| LDP  | Shinzō Abe  | 93,459  | 54.3  | New
| NFP | Takaaki Koga  | 59,676  | 34.7  | New
| JCP  | Hiroshi Ikenoue  | 18,853  | 11.0  | New
Margin of victory  | 33,783  | 19.19  | −
Turnout | 176,042  | 63.32  | −

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "衆議院小選挙区 - 確定投票状況" [House of Representatives election district - Fixed Vote Status]. Yamaguchi Prefecture Election Commission (in Japanese). 2017.
2. ^ Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Sōmu-shō, lit. "Ministry of general affairs"): 平成２３年９月２日現在選挙人名簿及び在外選挙人名簿登録者数
3. ^ <衆院補選 山口４区 (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
4. ^ a b Asahai Shimbun: election results in Yamaguchi's single-member districts
5. ^ 第46回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (The Senkyo, lit. "The Election[s]", a website about elections in Japan with an election results database covering all national elections since 1890 and recent prefectural and municipal elections; originally created by citizen online newspaper JANJAN and resold twice) (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)
6. ^ Yomiuri Shimbun: election results in Yamaguchi's single-member districts Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ 第45回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)
8. ^ 第44回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)
9. ^ 第43回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)
10. ^ 第42回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)
11. ^ 第41回衆議院議員選挙 - 山口4区. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). Heartbeats Corp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-19. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|work=`` (help)

House of Representatives (Japan)

Preceded by

Kanagawa 11th district

|  Constituency represented by the prime minister
2006–2007  | Succeeded by

Gunma 4th district

Preceded by

Chiba 4th district

|  Constituency represented by the prime minister
2012 – 2020  | Succeeded by

Kanagawa 2nd district

* v
* t
* e

First-past-the-post (FPTP) districts and proportional representation (PR) "blocks" for the Japanese House of Representatives of the National Diet (1996–present)

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan: Fukushiro Nukaga, Ibaraki 2nd
Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan: Banri Kaieda, Tokyo PR

Hokkaidō
(8 block seats, 12 district seats)|

Hokkaidō

Tōhoku
(12 block seats, 21 district seats)|

Aomori

Iwate

Miyagi

Akita

Yamagata

Fukushima

Kita- (North) Kantō
(19 block seats, 33 district seats)|

Ibaraki

Tochigi

Gunma

Saitama

Minami- (South) Kantō
(23 block seats, 36 district seats)|

Chiba

Kanagawa

Yamanashi

Tokyo
(19 block seats, 30 district seats)|

Tokyo

Hokuriku-Shin'etsu
(10 block seats, 18 district seats)|

Niigata

Toyama

Ishikawa

Fukui

Nagano

Tōkai
(21 block seats, 33 district seats)|

Gifu

Shizuoka

Aichi

Mie

Kinki
(28 block seats, 45 district seats)|

Shiga

Kyoto

Osaka

Hyōgo

Nara

Wakayama

Chūgoku
(10 block seats, 17 district seats)|

Tottori

Shimane

Okayama

Hiroshima

Yamaguchi

Shikoku
(6 block seats, 10 district seats)|

Tokushima

Kagawa

Ehime

Kōchi

Kyūshū
(20 block seats, 34 district seats)|

Fukuoka

Saga

Nagasaki

Kumamoto

Ōita

Miyazaki

Kagoshima

Okinawa

Districts eliminated
in the 2002 reapportionments|

Hokkaido 13
Yamagata 4
Shizuoka 9
Shimane 3
Oita 4

Districts eliminated
in the 2013 reapportionments|

Fukui 3
Yamanashi 3
Tokushima 3
Kochi 3
Saga 3

Districts eliminated
in the 2017 reapportionments|

Aomori 4
Iwate 4
Mie 5
Nara 4
Kumamoto 5
Kagoshima 5

Districts eliminated
in the 2022 reapportionments|

Miyagi 6
Fukushima 5
Niigata 6
Shiga 4
Wakayama 3
Okayama 5
Hiroshima 7
Yamaguchi 4
Ehime 4
Nagasaki 4
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