# Iwate at-large district

The Iwate at-large district (岩手県選挙区, Iwate-ken senkyo-ku) is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It consists of Iwate Prefecture and elects two Councilors, one every three years, making it one of the decisive single-member districts. Ichirō Ozawa came from the prefecture, and as a result, it is much more markedly competitive than many other rural, 2 seat districts. In fact, it was represented by two opposition members until 2022, when Hirose defeated CDP Councilor Eiji Kidoguchi to return it to split control. Kidoguchi defeated other opposition parties to win it back in a 2024 by-election following Hirose's resignation. It is also one of the districts where the opposition have been most consolidated; the last time multiple major party opposition members ran was 2013. The last LDP member to represent the district before Hirose was Motoo Shiina, who left the party in 1998.

## Elected Councillors

| Class of 1947 (1947: 6-year term) | Election year | Class of 1950 (1947: 3-year term) |
| Katsuji Debuchi † 1947 (Ind.) | 1947 | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Matsusuke Kawamura (JLP) | 1947 by-el. | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Matsusuke Kawamura (JLP) | 1950 | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Matsusuke Kawamura (Yoshida faction LP) | 1953 | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Matsusuke Kawamura (Yoshida faction LP) | 1956 | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Teiji Yamura † 1968 (LDP) | 1959 | Tadashi Chida (Ind.) |
| Teiji Yamura † 1968 (LDP) | 1962 | Kankichi Watanabe (JSP) |
| Teiji Yamura † 1968 (LDP) | 1965 | Kankichi Watanabe (JSP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1968 by-el. | Kankichi Watanabe (JSP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1968 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1971 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1974 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1977 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1980 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1983 | Sakari Masuda (LDP) |
| Michiyuki Isurugi † 1987 (LDP) | 1986 | Kiyotaka Takahashi (LDP) |
| Jin'ichi Ogawa (JSP) | 1987 by-el. | Kiyotaka Takahashi (LDP) |
| Jin'ichi Ogawa (JSP) | 1989 | Kiyotaka Takahashi (LDP) |
| Jin'ichi Ogawa (JSP) | 1992 | Motoo Shiina (LDP) |
| Yoshinori Takahashi (NFP) | 1995 | Motoo Shiina (LDP) |
| Yoshinori Takahashi (NFP) | 1998 | Motoo Shiina (Ind.) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (LP) | 2001 | Motoo Shiina (Ind.) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (LP) | 2004 | Ryō Shuhama (DPJ) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (DPJ) | 2007 | Ryō Shuhama (DPJ) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (DPJ) | 2010 | Ryō Shuhama (DPJ) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (Ind.) | 2013 | Ryō Shuhama (DPJ) |
| Tatsuo Hirano (Ind.) | 2016 | Eiji Kidoguchi (Ind.) |
| Takanori Yokosawa (Ind.) | 2019 | Eiji Kidoguchi (Ind.) |
| Takanori Yokosawa (Ind.) | 2022 | Megumi Hirose # (LDP) |
| Takanori Yokosawa (Ind.) | 2024 by-el. | Eiji Kidoguchi (CDP) |
Party affiliations as of election day; #: resigned; †: died in office.
* ↑ joined Ryokufūkai
* ↑ left LDP in 1993, later temporarily "Liberal Assembly"
* ↑ joined "Independent Assembly"
* ↑ joined LF→TPJ→PLP in 2012
* ↑ expelled in 2013
* ↑ joined CDP in 2020

## Recent election results

2024 by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Constitutional Democratic | Eiji Kidoguchi | 334,914 | 65.9 | |
| | Independent | Ayumi Tanaka | 109,978 | 21.7 | |
| | Sanseitō | Toshiya Yoshida | 48,214 | 9.5 | 4.7 |
| | Minor party | Hironori Matsushima | 9,015 | 1.8 | |
| | Minor party | Yutaka Odata | 5,810 | 1.1 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,000,754 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 55.54 | 0.16 |
| | Constitutional Democratic gain from Liberal Democratic | Constitutional Democratic gain from Liberal Democratic | Constitutional Democratic gain from Liberal Democratic | Constitutional Democratic gain from Liberal Democratic | Constitutional Democratic gain from Liberal Democratic |
2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democratic | Megumi Hirose | 264,422 | 47.2 | 0.9 |
| | Independent | Eiji Kidoguchi | 242,174 | 43.2 | 5.7 |
| | Sanseitō | Akishi Shiratori | 26,960 | 4.8 | New |
| | Independent | Hiroko Ogoshi | 13,637 | 2.4 | |
| | Anti-NHK | Takashi Matsuda | 13,352 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,034,059 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 55,38% | 1.17 |
2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Takanori Yokosawa | 288,239 | 48.97 | − |
| | Liberal Democratic | Tatsuo Hirano | 272,733 | 46.33 | 6.63 |
| | Anti-NHK | Shuuichi Kajitani | 27,658 | 4.7 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,066,492 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 56,55% | 1.23 |
2016 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Independent | Eiji Kidoguchi (Endorsed by Democratic, Communist, Social Democratic and People's Life parties) | 328,555 | 53.3 |
| Liberal Democratic | Shinichi Tanaka (Endorsed by Komeito) | 252,767 | 41.0 |
| Happiness Realization | Mikiko Ishikawa | 34,593 | 5.6 |
2013 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Independent | Tatsuo Hirano (Incumbent) | 243,368 | 39.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Shinichi Tanaka (Endorsed by Komeito) | 161,499 | 26.4 |
| People's Life | Toshinobu Sekine Endorsed by Green Wind | 91,048 | 14.9 |
| Democratic | Harumi Yoshida | 62,047 | 10.1 |
| Communist | Yukio Kikuchi | 46,529 | 7.6 |
| Happiness Realization | Keiko Takahashi | 8,322 | 1.4 |
2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ryō Shuhama (Incumbent) | 351,545 | 54.2 |
| | Liberal Democratic | Yukifumi Takahashi | 197,137 | 30.4 |
| | Social Democratic | Masahiro Iwasa | 54,989 | 8.5 |
| | Communist | Sadakiyo Segawa | 44,771 | 6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 669,498 | 60.36 |
2007 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tatsuo Hirano (Incumbent) (Supported by People's New Party) | 437,814 | 62.6 |
| | Liberal Democratic | Shōichirō Chida (Supported by Kōmeitō) | 176,096 | 25.2 |
| | Social Democratic | Masahiro Iwasa | 47,425 | 6.8 |
| | Communist | Akio Wakayama | 38,089 | 5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 714,559 | 63.49 |