# Kōchi at-large district (House of Representatives)

The Kōchi at-large district (Japanese: 高知県全県区, Hepburn: Kōchi-ken Zenken-ku) was a multi-member electoral district represented in the House of Representatives in the National Diet of Japan. From 1947 until 1993, it elected five representatives from Kōchi Prefecture. Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida was elected from the district during its first seven elections of its existence.

## History

In the 1947 Japanese general election, conservative parties won a majority of seats, with prime minister Shigeru Yoshida leading in the polls. Subsequently, they would continue winning majorities in the district, a trend that persisted after these parties merged to create the LDP until the 1967 Japanese general election. In the 1967 Japanese general election, the Kōmeitō ran in the district for the first time, winning in third-place. Afterwards, the party would win a seat from the district except in the 1972 Japanese general election, with Akira Nakano [ja], Masatarō Hiraishi [ja], and Noritoshi Ishida being the Kōmeitō's representatives for the district. Meanwhile, the LDP would win a majority of seats only twice: in 1969 and 1972. Due to the 1994 Japanese electoral reform, the at-large district was replaced with three single-member districts starting with the 1996 Japanese general election.
Among the district's representatives were Shigeru Yoshida, who was prime minister (1946–1947; 1948–1954) and was elected from the district during its first seven elections of its existence; Jōji Hayashi [ja], who was Chief Cabinet Secretary (1947) and deputy prime minister (1948–1951); Gen Nakatani, who was Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency (2001–2002) and Minister of Defense (2014–2016); and Yūji Yamamoto, who was Minister of State for Financial Services (2006–2007) and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (2016–2017).
At the time the Public Offices Election Law [ja] came into law in 1950, the district encompassed the entirely of Kōchi Prefecture.

## Results

1947 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Shigeru Yoshida | 98,176 | 29.4 | New |
| Liberal | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 49,926 | 14.9 | New |
| Independent | Shigeharu Kuroiwa [ja] | 40,172 | 12.0 | New |
| Socialist | Haruki Satake [ja] | 38,332 | 11.5 | New |
| Democratic | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 28,732 | 8.6 | New |
| Other | Tsuneko Harakami | 26,729 | 8.0 | New |
| Socialist | Ichirō Ujihara [ja] | 25,903 | 7.8 | New |
| Democratic | Tosatarō Nagano | 17,323 | 5.2 | New |
| Communist | Kumaharu Kunisawa | 8,721 | 2.6 | New |
1949 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Democratic Liberal | Shigeru Yoshida | 81,289 | 22.9 | New |
| Democratic Liberal | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 49,424 | 13.9 | New |
| Democratic | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 33,787 | 9.5 | +0.9 |
| Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 33,056 | 9.3 | +4.1 |
| Japan Social Reform Party | Haruki Satake [ja] | 22,854 | 6.4 | New |
| Independent | Takao Hamada [ja] | 22,833 | 6.4 | New |
| Communist | Masamitsu Okamoto | 21,578 | 6.1 | +3.5 |
| Socialist | Ichirō Ujihara [ja] | 20,680 | 5.8 | −5.7 |
| Independent | Mitsui Hamada | 19,205 | 5.4 | New |
| Independent | Shigeki Nishiyama | 14,417 | 4.1 | New |
| Japan Farmers Party (1947–1949) | Gonjirō Haragami | 13,463 | 3.8 | New |
| Labourers and Farmers | Tadashi Nishihara | 12,766 | 3.6 | New |
| Pure Japanese Youth Association | Masaru Kuroiwa | 10,252 | 2.9 | New |
1952 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Shigeru Yoshida | 87,169 | 22.7 | New |
| Liberal | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 65,371 | 17.0 | New |
| Kaishintō | Kōichi Uda [ja] | 46,286 | 12.0 | New |
| Liberal | Takao Hamada [ja] | 41,169 | 10.7 | New |
| Liberal | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 35,983 | 9.4 | New |
| Japan Reconstruction Federation | Yoshiaki Yorimitsu [ja] | 24,899 | 6.5 | New |
| Japan Cooperative Party (1952) | Haruki Satake [ja] | 22,392 | 5.8 | New |
| Left Socialist | Yoshiyasu Irimajiri | 22,027 | 5.7 | New |
| Independent | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 18,276 | 4.8 | New |
| Independent | Hisaki Nishimori | 11,378 | 3.0 | New |
| Other | Masaru Ōishi [ja] | 9,592 | 2.5 | New |
1953 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Shigeru Yoshida | 88,620 | 24.0 | +1.3 |
| Liberal | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 63,916 | 17.3 | +0.3 |
| Right Socialist | Haruki Satake [ja] | 61,022 | 16.5 | New |
| Liberal | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 54,022 | 14.6 | +3.9 |
| Liberal | Takao Hamada [ja] | 50,469 | 13.6 | +4.2 |
| Kaishintō | Kōichi Uda [ja] | 39,029 | 10.5 | −1.5 |
| Communist | Masaki Morita | 8,573 | 2.3 | New |
| Other | Keizo Konagai | 4,322 | 1.2 | New |
1955 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Shigeru Yoshida | 52,962 | 14.1 | −9.9 |
| Japan Democratic Party | Kōichi Uda [ja] | 50,408 | 13.4 | New |
| Right Socialist | Haruki Satake [ja] | 46,486 | 12.3 | −4.2 |
| Left Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 42,234 | 11.2 | New |
| Liberal | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 38,897 | 10.3 | −7.0 |
| Kochi Prefectural Bereaved Families Association Federation | Naoyoshi Ueda | 36,245 | 9.6 | New |
| Liberal | Takao Hamada [ja] | 35,823 | 9.5 | −5.1 |
| Liberal | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 32,766 | 8.7 | −4.9 |
| Independent | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 22,486 | 6.0 | New |
| Japan Democratic Party | Yoshiaki Yorimitsu [ja] | 16,739 | 4.4 | New |
| Independent | Gonjirō Haragami | 1,500 | 0.4 | New |
1958 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Jōji Hayashi [ja] | 70,728 | 16.5 | New |
| Liberal Democratic | Takao Hamada [ja] | 53,821.97 | 12.6 | New |
| Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 53,725 | 12.5 | New |
| Liberal Democratic | Shigeru Yoshida | 52,286 | 12.2 | New |
| Liberal Democratic | Masanobu Hamada [ja] | 46,129.43 | 10.8 | New |
| Socialist | Takeyuki Takahashi | 45,417 | 10.6 | New |
| Independent | Yoshiaki Yorimitsu [ja] | 35,961 | 8.4 | New |
| Socialist | Haruki Satake [ja] | 34,662 | 8.1 | New |
| Independent | Wakaji Kawamura [ja] | 17,040 | 4.0 | New |
| Independent | Nagahiro Nagano [ja] | 13,923 | 3.3 | New |
| Communist | Masaki Morita | 4,486 | 1.0 | New |
1960 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Tadao Kariya [ja] | 69,604 | 16.9 | +0.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Shigeru Yoshida | 68,506 | 16.6 | +4.0 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masanobu Hamada [ja] | 63,605.18 | 15.4 | +3.2 |
| Liberal Democratic | Takao Hamada [ja] | 57,995.25 | 14.1 | +3.3 |
| Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 57,891 | 14.0 | +1.5 |
| Democratic Socialist | Haruki Satake [ja] | 49,620 | 12.0 | New |
| Socialist | Hideo Kunizawa | 35,366 | 8.6 | −2.0 |
| Communist | Masaki Morita | 9,572 | 2.3 | +1.3 |
1963 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Tadao Kariya [ja] | 64,873 | 16.1 | −0.8 |
| Liberal Democratic | Takao Hamada [ja] | 63,205 | 15.7 | −0.9 |
| Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 63,125 | 15.7 | +1.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 60,458 | 15.0 | −0.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 56,664 | 14.1 | 0.0 |
| Socialist | Hideo Kunizawa | 40,764 | 10.1 | +1.5 |
| Communist | Masamune Miyamoto | 38,482 | 9.6 | +7.3 |
| Democratic Socialist | Bisui Miyagawa | 15,133 | 3.8 | New |
1967 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Tadao Kariya [ja] | 62,493 | 14.2 | −1.9 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 61,190 | 13.9 | −1.8 |
| Kōmeitō | Akira Nakano [ja] | 59,039 | 13.4 | New |
| Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 57,544 | 13.0 | +2.9 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 54,871 | 12.4 | −3.3 |
| Liberal Democratic | Takao Hamada [ja] | 54,283 | 12.3 | −2.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 53,553 | 12.1 | −2.0 |
| Communist | Masamune Miyamoto | 38,465 | 8.7 | −0.9 |
1969 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Kōmeitō | Akira Nakano [ja] | 62,494 | 13.8 | +0.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 61,629 | 13.6 | −0.6 |
| Liberal Democratic | Tadao Kariya [ja] | 61,075 | 13.5 | +1.1 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 57,498 | 12.7 | +0.4 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 56,131 | 12.4 | +3.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Takao Hamada [ja] | 52,913 | 11.7 | −0.4 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 47,290 | 10.5 | −3.4 |
| Socialist | Sei Morimoto [ja] | 44,805 | 9.9 | −3.1 |
| Democratic Socialist | Yoshio Yamazaki | 8,259 | 1.8 | New |
1972 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 87,257 | 18.7 | +6.3 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 83,585 | 17.9 | +7.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 80,990 | 17.3 | +3.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Tadao Kariya [ja] | 76,938 | 16.5 | +3.0 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 70,999 | 15.2 | +2.5 |
| Kōmeitō | Akira Nakano [ja] | 66,508.39 | 14.2 | +0.4 |
| Independent | Asahi Taniwaki | 609.59 | 0.1 | New |
1976 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Kōmeitō | Masatarō Hiraishi [ja] | 91,507 | 19.6 | +5.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Kanzō Tanigawa [ja] | 77,288 | 16.5 | −0.8 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 72,515 | 15.5 | −3.2 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 69,477 | 14.9 | −1.6 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 68,058 | 14.6 | −3.3 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 62,890 | 13.4 | −1.8 |
| New Liberal Club | Hideo Tsukuda | 25,968 | 5.6 | New |
1979 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 83,753 | 18.4 | +3.8 |
| Kōmeitō | Masatarō Hiraishi [ja] | 74,734 | 16.4 | −3.2 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 72,985 | 16.1 | −0.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 72,698 | 16.0 | +1.1 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 71,292 | 15.7 | +0.2 |
| Liberal Democratic | Kanzō Tanigawa [ja] | 66,045 | 14.5 | +1.1 |
| New Liberal Club | Hideo Tsukuda | 13,216 | 2.9 | −2.7 |
1980 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 126,599 | 29.6 | +13.5 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 82,185 | 19.2 | +3.2 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 68,883 | 16.1 | −2.3 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 66,784 | 15.6 | −0.1 |
| Kōmeitō | Masatarō Hiraishi [ja] | 62,399 | 14.6 | −1.8 |
| Independent | Hideo Tsukuda | 20,460 | 4.8 | New |
1983 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Kōmeitō | Masatarō Hiraishi [ja] | 81,463 | 18.3 | +3.7 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 72,310 | 16.3 | +0.7 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 69,060 | 15.5 | −0.6 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 65,901 | 14.8 | −14.8 |
| Liberal Democratic | Kenzō Yamaoka [ja] | 61,372 | 13.8 | −5.4 |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 59,137 | 13.3 | New |
| Liberal Democratic | Shōichi Ban [ja] | 25,157 | 5.7 | New |
| Independent | Hideo Tsukuda | 10,330 | 2.3 | −2.5 |
1986 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal Democratic | Ryōhei Tamura [ja] | 79,537 | 18.3 | +3.3 |
| Kōmeitō | Masatarō Hiraishi [ja] | 77,342 | 17.8 | −0.5 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 71,008 | 16.3 | 0.0 |
| Socialist | Izumi Inoue [ja] | 70,872 | 16.3 | +0.8 |
| Liberal Democratic | Masao Ōnishi [ja] | 69,808 | 16.1 | +2.8 |
| Liberal Democratic | Kenzō Yamaoka [ja] | 66,135 | 15.2 | +1.9 |
1990 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Socialist | Masanori Gotō [ja] | 79,314 | 16.4 | +0.1 |
| Liberal Democratic | Gen Nakatani | 66,573 | 13.7 | −4.6 |
| Liberal Democratic | Yūji Yamamoto | 64,499 | 13.3 | −2.8 |
| Kōmeitō | Noritoshi Ishida | 56,581 | 11.7 | −6.1 |
| Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 56,088 | 11.6 | −4.7 |
| Liberal Democratic | Kenzō Yamaoka [ja] | 51,551 | 10.6 | −4.6 |
| Independent | Shigeya Kurio | 38,856 | 8.0 | New |
| Independent | Yū Hayashi [ja] | 35,352 | 7.3 | New |
| Independent | Kōhei Tamura [ja] | 19,947 | 4.1 | New |
| Independent | Naotake Tokoroya | 8,266 | 1.7 | New |
| Independent | Shōichi Ban [ja] | 7,748 | 1.6 | New |
1993 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democratic | Gen Nakatani | 75,771 | 17.1 | +3.4 |
| | Communist | Kenjirō Yamahara [ja] | 63,173 | 14.3 | +2.7 |
| | Kōmeitō | Noritoshi Ishida | 61,683 | 13.9 | +2.2 |
| | Socialist | Masanori Gotō [ja] | 59,940 | 13.5 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal Democratic | Yūji Yamamoto | 57,660 | 13.0 | −0.3 |
| | Liberal Democratic | Kōhei Tamura [ja] | 49,701 | 11.2 | +0.6 |
| | New Party | Jun'ya Nagakuni | 35,423 | 8.0 | New |
| | Liberal Democratic | Hidehiko Nakauchi | 25,498 | 5.8 | New |
| | Independent | Takeshi Chikamori | 13,719 | 3.1 | New |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 640,564 | 69.78 | |