Hajime Hirota

{{short description|Japanese politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Hajime Hirota

| native_name = {{nobold|広田 一}}

| native_name_lang = ja

|image = Hirota Hajime.jpg

|caption = Official portrait, 2021

|office = Member of the House of Councillors

|term_start = 22 October 2023

|term_end =

|predecessor = Kojiro Takano

|successor =

|constituency = Tokushima-Kōchi at-large

|term_start2 = 26 July 2004

|term_end2 = 25 July 2016

|predecessor2 = Kojiro Takano

|successor2 = Constituency abolished

|constituency2 = Kōchi at-large

|office3 = Member of the House of Representatives

|constituency3 = Kōchi 2nd

|term_start3 = 22 October 2017

|term_end3 = 14 October 2021

|predecessor3 = Yūji Yamamoto

|successor3 = Masanao Ozaki

|office4 = Member of the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly

|term_start4 = 1995

|term_end4 = 2001

|constituency4 = Tosashimizu City

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|10|10|df=y}}

|birth_place = Tosashimizu, Kōchi, Japan

|spouse =

|children =

|profession =

|alma_mater = University of Waseda

|party = CDP (since 2020)

|otherparty = LDP (1995–2001)
Independent (2001–2009; 2017–2020)
DPJ (2009–2016)
DP (2016–2017)

}}

{{nihongo|Hajime Hirota|広田 一|Hirota Hajime|extra=born October 10, 1968}} is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet since 2023, having previously served from 2004 until 2016. He previously served two terms in the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly from 1995 until 2001.

In 2015 changes to the electoral laws merged Hirota's Kōchi at-large district with the neighbouring Tokushima district, in order to address the problem of disparity in the representation of urban and rural areas. In October 2015 Hirota announced that he would not contest the merged Tokushima-Kōchi at-large district at the 2016 election as a protest against the merger.{{cite news |url=http://mainichi.jp/senkyo/articles/20151101/ddm/002/010/054000c |title=民主党・広田氏、「徳島・高知」から不出馬 |trans-title=Democrat Hirota will not contest Tokushima-Kochi |language=Japanese |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |date=1 November 2015 |access-date=7 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505085915/http://mainichi.jp/senkyo/articles/20151101/ddm/002/010/054000c |archive-date=5 May 2016 |url-status=dead }} In June 2016 it was reported that Hirota would instead contest one of Kochi Prefecture's districts at the next House of Representatives election, to be held by the end of 2018.{{cite news|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASFS01H6D_R00C16A6PP8000/ |title=参院改選19人が引退・不出馬 江田元議長ら |trans-title=19 Councillors to retire or not contest election, including former president Eda |language=Japanese |date=2 June 2016 |newspaper=Nikkei |access-date=7 July 2016}} His decision meant that no candidates that contested the new district were born in Kochi Prefecture.