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He was the general secretary of New Komeito when the party suffered a major defeat in the 2009 Japanese general election. New Komeito lost ten seats, including Kitagawa's and that of party leader Akihiro Ota. On 8 September 2009 Yoshihisa Inoue replaced Kitagawa as general secretary of New Komeito. Notwithstanding the loss of his seat, Kitagawa became deputy president of the party.