# Chiba 4th district

Chiba 4th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, located in Western Chiba. As of 2016, 459,431 eligible voters were registered in the district. In the 2009 and 2012 general elections, the district had the lowest electoral weight throughout Japan at more than two times as many voters as the district with the highest electoral weight, Kōchi-3rd.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda represented Chiba 4th district from 2000 until 2024 when he transferred to the newly established Chiba 14th district. Noda initially lost as a candidate for the New Frontier Party by 105 votes to Liberal Democrat Shōichi Tanaka in 1996. Amid the LDP landslide in 2012 that returned them into power, then-PM Noda became a rare DPJ politician who actually increased his share of vote in his constituency.
Before resdistricting, the electoral district covered the city of Funabashi. After 2022 it comprises a part of Funabashi and a part of Ichikawa. Areas of Funabashi that had previously belonged to the 4th were moved to the new 14th district.
Before the electoral reform of 1994, Funabashi was part of Chiba 1st district where four Representatives had been elected by single non-transferable vote.

## List of representatives

| Representative | Party | Dates |
| Shōichi Tanaka | LDP | 1996 – 2000 |
| Yoshihiko Noda | DPJ | 2000 – 2016 |
| Yoshihiko Noda | DP | 2016 – 2017 |
| Yoshihiko Noda | Ind | 2017 – 2021 |
| Yoshihiko Noda | CDP | 2021 – 2024 |
| Hideyuki Mazunuma | CDP | 2024 – |

## Election results

2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CDP | Hideyuki Mazunuma | 90,011 | 43.33 | 21.22 |
| | LDP | Tetsuya Kimura | 66,629 | 32.07 | 3.38 |
| | JCP | Kenta Yakama | 26,222 | 12.62 | 5.82 |
| | Ishin | Kyōko Amemiya | 13,736 | 6.61 | 1.11 |
| | Sanseitō | Seiko Kudō | 11,131 | 5.36 | New |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 52.58 | 0.11 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 406,084 | | |
| | CDP hold | CDP hold | CDP hold | CDP hold | CDP hold |
2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CDP | Yoshihiko Noda | 154,412 | 64.55 | 4.56 |
| | LDP | Tetsuya Kimura | 84,813 | 35.45 | 7.34 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 70.399 | 29.10 | 2.38 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 52.69 | 3.28 |
| | CDP hold | CDP hold | Swing | 1.19 | |
2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Yoshihiko Noda | 131,024 | 59.59 | 8.90 |
| | LDP | Tetsuya Kimura (elected by PR, endorsed by Kōmeitō) | 61,804 | 28.11 | 1.21 |
| | JCP | Toshirō Fukatsu | 14,955 | 6.80 | 3.73 |
| | Ishin | Hiroshi Satō | 12,104 | 5.50 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 69,220 | 31.48 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 49.41 | 3.75 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | 5.06 | |
2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda | 119,193 | 51.69 | 5.59 |
| | LDP | Tetsuya Kimura (endorsed by Kōmeitō) | 67,600 | 29.32 | 4.01 |
| | JCP | Kazuko Saitō (elected by PR) | 24,275 | 10.53 | 3.00 |
| | Independent | Ken'ichi Nishio (endorsed by the Greens) | 19,510 | 8.46 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 51,593 | 22.37 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 53.16 | 6.30 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | 4.80 | |
2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda (endorsed by PNP) | 163,334 | 57.28 | 3.64 |
| | LDP | Mikio Fujita (endorsed by NKP) | 72,187 | 25.31 | 2.95 |
| | Tomorrow | Yukiko Miyake (endorsed by NPD) | 28,187 | 9.88 | N/A |
| | JCP | Kazuko Saitō | 21,459 | 7.53 | 0.09 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 91,147 | 31.97 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 307,954 | 59.46 | 3.67 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | 3.30 | |
In 2009, Yoshihiko Noda's candidacy was formally supported by the People's New Party, Mikio Fujita by New Komeito.
2009 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda (endorsed by PNP) | 162,153 | 53.64 | 8.75 |
| | LDP | Mikio Fujita (endorsed by NKP) | 85,425 | 28.26 | 16.32 |
| | Your | Itoko Noyashiki | 28,280 | 9.35 | N/A |
| | JCP | Kazuko Saitō | 23,050 | 7.62 | 0.73 |
| | Happiness Realization | Kōichirō Yamanaka | 3,403 | 1.13 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 76,728 | 25.38 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 307,954 | 63.13 | 0.24 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | 12.52 | |
2005 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda | 129,834 | 44.89 | 10.9 |
| | LDP | Mikio Fujita (elected by PR, endorsed by NKP) | 128,890 | 44.58 | 11.7 |
| | JCP | Toshinori Niki | 24,138 | 8.35 | 2.9 |
| | Independent | Kōji Nagano | 6,311 | 2.18 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 956 | 0.31 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 294,777 | 63.37 | 9.08 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | 11.3 | |
2003 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda | 135,522 | 55.8 | 8.5 |
| | LDP | Masaru Hasegawa (endorsed by NKP) | 80,051 | 32.9 | 1.9 |
| | JCP | Yukiko Tsuga | 27,441 | 11.3 | 6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 249,446 | 54.29 | 9.08 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | 5.2 | |
2000 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Democratic | Yoshihiko Noda | 116,156 | 47.3 | 15.4 |
| LDP | Ken'ichi Nishio (endorsed by NKP) | 76,067 | 31.0 | 1.0 |
| JCP | Shōji Ishii | 44,586 | 18.2 | 2.0 |
| Liberal League | Yutaka Akimoto | 8,899 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Democratic gain from LDP | Democratic gain from LDP | Swing | 8.2 | |
1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | LDP | Shōichi Tanaka | 73,792 | 32.0 | |
| | New Frontier | Yoshihiko Noda | 73,687 | 31.9 | |
| | Democratic | Takayuki Kojima | 45,924 | 19.9 | |
| | JCP | Shin'ichi Maruyama | 37,300 | 16.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 235,653 | 55.07 | |
| | LDP win (new seat) | LDP win (new seat) | LDP win (new seat) | LDP win (new seat) | LDP win (new seat) |