A by-election for the Kyoto-3rd seat in the Japanese House of Representatives was held on 24 April 2016, coinciding with the by-election in Hokkaido. The seat became vacant after sitting member Kensuke Miyazaki resigned on 12 February 2016 in the midst of an extramarital affair scandal.[1] Miyazaki, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, served the district from 2012. He defeated Democratic Party MP Kenta Izumi by slim margins in the 2012 (0.1%) and 2014 (2.7%) elections.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kyoto 3rd district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 30.12% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Izumi managed to wrest back his old seat by a landslide, eclipsing his nearest rival by 45 percentage points.[2][3]
Outline
editThe district had 344,696 registered voters for the election, an increase of 0.12% since the 2014 general election.[4] As the voting age for national elections was decreased to 18 years in June 2016,[5] this by-election, along with the Hokkaido by-election, were the last national-level election with a minimum voting age of 20 years. The by-elections were the first national-level elections contested by the Democratic Party, Initiatives from Osaka party and Party for Japanese Kokoro under their respective current names.[6] The Communist Party also chose not to field a candidate in the election, despite receiving 27,000 votes (16%) in the 2014 election.[6]
Dates
editCandidates
editThe by-election was a six-way race. The LDP decided against fielding a candidate due to the perceived anti-LDP sentiment in light of the Miyazaki scandal.[9] Party bosses were also worried that a heavy defeat in Kyoto might affect LDP's campaign for the House of Councillors election in summer.[10][11]
| Candidates[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party for Japanese Kokoro | Yukiko Ono | Endorsed by the New Renaissance Party[6] | |
| Independent | Masafumi Tabuchi | ||
| Happiness Realization Party | Mitsuko Ōyagi | ||
| Initiatives from Osaka | Natsue Mori | ||
| Democratic | Kenta Izumi | Endorsed by the Social Democratic Party.[6] Representative of the district for three terms (2003-2012). Lost the district in 2012 and 2014 but remained in the House via the Kinki PR block. | |
| Independent | Akihiro Kōri | ||
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kenta Izumi | 65,051 | 65.42 |  32.31
| |
| Ishin | Natsue Mori | 20,710 | 20.83 | 5.82
| |
| Japanese Kokoro | Yukiko Ono | 6,449 | 6.49 | N/A | |
| Independent | Masafumi Tabuchi | 4,599 | 4.63 | N/A | |
| Happiness Realization | Mitsuko Ōyagi | 2,247 | 2.26 | N/A | |
| Independent | Akihiko Kōri | 370 | 0.37 | N/A | |
| Rejected ballots | 4,224 | 4.08 | |||
| Majority | 44,341 | 44.59 | 42.8
| ||
| Turnout | 103,650[14] | 30.12 | |||
| Democratic gain from LDP | Swing | N/A | |||
Note:
1 The percentage swing for the Democratic Party candidate is calculated based on the vote share obtained by its predecessor, DPJ.
2 The percentage swing for the Initiatives from Osaka candidate is calculated based on the vote share obtained by its predecessor, Japan Innovation Party.
References
edit- ^ "Paternity leave trailblazer Miyazaki quits over affair". Japan Times. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "京都３区補選 民進 泉健太氏が当選" [Kyoto 3rd district by-election: Democratic Party's Kenta Izumi has been elected] (in Japanese). NHK. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "LDP-backed candidate Wada projected to win seat in Hokkaido by-election". Japan Times. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "選挙人名簿登録者数 増減比較表" [Registered voters comparison table] (PDF) (in Japanese). 11 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "選挙権年齢の満１８歳以上への引下げ" [Voting age lowered to 18 years] (in Japanese). Kyoto Prefecture. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "衆院京都３区補選、６人の争い確定" [Kyoto 3rd by election confirmed as 6-person race] (in Japanese). Kyoto Shimbun. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ a b "京都府広報" [Kyoto Prefecture Gazette] (PDF) (in Japanese). Kyoto Prefecture. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "衆議院京都府第３区選出議員補欠選挙 期日前投票所に使用する施設について" [Concerning pre-polling locations for the Kyoto 3rd district by-election] (PDF) (in Japanese). Kyoto Prefecture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "Hokkaido and Kyoto by-election campaigns, measure of Abe's strength, get underway". Japan Times. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "LDP decides not to field candidate for by-election in Kyoto". Mainichi Shimbun. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "Hokkaido, Kyoto by-elections a test for both DP and LDP". Japan Times. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "開票結了速報" [Preliminary final results] (PDF) (in Japanese). Kyoto Prefecture. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "衆院京都３区補選" [House of Representatives - Kyoto 3rd district by-election] (in Japanese). NHK. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "選挙当日の有権者数、投票者数及び投票率に関する調 ［投票結了］" [Number of voters on election day and turnout (post-election report)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Kyoto Prefecture. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.