2019 Osaka 12th district by-election

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2019 Osaka 12th district by-election
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  2017 21 April 2019 Next  

Osaka 12th district
Turnout47.00%

Representative before election

Tomokatsu Kitagawa
Liberal Democratic

Elected Representative

Fumitake Fujita
Ishin

A by-election for the Osaka 12th district in the Japanese House of Representatives was held on 21 April 2019. [1] The by-election was called following the death of the incumbent member Tomokatsu Kitagawa, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), from peritonitis on 26 December 2018. Kitagawa had served the district almost continuously since 2005 (except between 2009–12) and defended the seat by a narrow 4.4% margin in the 2017 election, making the seat a potential battleground. The by-election was held on the same day with the second round of the unified local elections and another House by-election for the Okinawa 3rd district.

Ōsaka 12th district is a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It is located in North-eastern Osaka and covers the cities of Neyagawa, Daitō and Shijōnawate. As of September 2012, 342,226 voters were registered district, giving its voters slightly above average vote weight.

House of Representatives (Japan) lower house of Japan

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house.

Tomokatsu Kitagawa Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party

Tomokatsu Kitagawa was a Japanese politician from the Liberal Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Neyagawa, Osaka and graduate of Kansai University, he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 2000. He became a member in July 2003 as proportional replacement from the LDP list in Kinki for deceased Tōru Okutani, in the November 2003 election he was elected for the first time. He ran for re-election in 2009 and was defeated by Shinji Tarutoko of the Democratic Party. Kitagawa recaptured his seat in the 2012 election and held it until his death from peritonitis on 26 December 2018.

Contents

The by-election was won by Nippon Ishin no Kai's Fumitake Fujita, marking a gain for the party. [2]

Japan Innovation Party (日本維新の会) is a Japanese neoconservative political party. Formed as Initiatives from Osaka in October 2015 from a split in the Japan Innovation Party, the party became the third-biggest opposition party in the National Diet following the July 2016 House of Councillors election.

Candidates

Shinji Tarutoko Japanese politician

Shinji Tarutoko is a Japanese politician and former member of the House of Representatives.

The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications is the member of the Cabinet of Japan in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Japanese political party

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative political party in Japan.

Campaign

Results

House of Representatives: Osaka 12th district by-election, 2019
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Ishin Fumitake Fujita 60,34138.5
Liberal Democratic Shinpei Kitagawa47,02530.0
Independent Shinji Tarutoko 35,35822.6
Communist Takeshi Miyamoto 14,0278.9
Total votes156,751
Turnout 47.00-0.50
Ishin gain from Liberal Democratic Swing

Footnotes

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    References

    1. "北川知克・衆院議員が死去、67歳 元環境副大臣" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
    2. "LDP loses both by-elections in Okinawa, Osaka prefectures". Asahi Shimbun. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
    3. 1 2 3 Kyodo News (4 February 2019). "北川氏おいが出馬表明 自民擁立、衆院大阪12区" (in Japanese). The Nikkei . Retrieved 22 February 2019.
    4. Okamura, Natsuki; Nakazaki, Taro (10 April 2019). "Lower House by-elections seen as trial run for Upper House poll". Asahi Shimbun . Retrieved 10 April 2019.