Kumamoto 4th district

{{Infobox constituency|name=Kumamoto 4th District|nativename={{nobold|熊本県第4区}}|type=Parliamentary|parl_name=Japanese House of Representatives|image=衆議院小選挙区熊本県.svg|district_label=Prefecture|district=Kumamoto|region_label=Proportional District|electorate=399,867 (as of September 2022){{cite web|url=https://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/meibo/meibo_R04.html|access-date=2023-01-04|title=総務省｜令和4年9月1日現在選挙人名簿及び在外選挙人名簿登録者数|language=ja|trans-title=Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Number of registered voters as of 1 September 2022}}|year=1994|seats=One|party_label=Party|party=LDP|member_label=Representative|member=Yasushi Kaneko}}

{{Nihongo|Kumamoto 4th District|熊本県第4区|Kumamoto-ken dai-yon-ku|or 熊本4区 Kumamoto yon-ku}} is a current single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It is located in Kumamoto and since 2017 covers roughly the Southern half of Kumamoto.MIC: [http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/news/senkyo/shu_kuwari/shu_kuwari_3.html 2017 changes to House of Representatives electoral districts], [http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000490492.pdf Map and table of changes in Kumamoto] {{in lang|ja}}

Before 2013, it consisted of a small section of the prefectural capital Kumamoto (the former towns of Tomiai and Jōnan in today's Minami-ku), the cities of Amakusa, Uto, Kami-Amakusa and Uki and the remaining towns and villages of the former Amakusa, Upper (Kami-Mashiki) and Lower Mashiki (Shimo-Mashiki) counties. As of September 2012, 294,547 eligible voters were resident in the district.MIC: [http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/meibo/meibo_h24.html 平成24年9月2日現在選挙人名簿及び在外選挙人名簿登録者数>選挙区ごとの選挙人名簿及び在外選挙人名簿登録者数等] {{in lang|ja}}

Before 1996, the area had been part of the four-member Kumamoto 2nd district. Representatives had included Sunao Sonoda (DPJ→PDP→Progressive→JDP→LDP, 1947–1984) and his son Hiroyuki (LDP→NPH, 1986–1996). Hiroyuki Sonoda, deputy chief cabinet secretary during the LDP-JSP-NPH coalition, won the new single-member 4th district six times in a row after the electoral reform. In several elections, he was not even challenged by a candidate from the major party of the opposing bloc, exceptions were the initial election of 1996 and the "postal election" of 2005. In 2012, neither of the two established major parties contested the seat. Sonoda's main challenger in 2012, Masayoshi Yagami, had become a Liberal Democrat (JNP→NFP→LDP) when he represented the neighbouring 5th district in the 1990s, but became an independent for his two terms as mayor of Sagara and his failed run for governor of Kumamoto in 2008.

List of representatives

class=wikitable

valign=bottom

! Representative

! colspan="2" | Party

! Dates

! Notes

rowspan="4" | Hiroyuki Sonoda

| bgcolor={{party color|New Party Sakigake}} |

NPS

| 1996–2000

| Became independent in 1998, returned to the LDP in 1999

bgcolor={{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}} |

LDP

| 2000–2012

| Joined SPJ in 2010, merged into SP, then JRP in 2012

bgcolor={{party color|Japan Restoration Party}} |

JRP

| 2012–2014

| Co-founded the Party for Future Generations in 2014

bgcolor={{party color|The Party for Japanese Kokoro}} |

PJK

| 2014–2017

| Returned to LDP in 2015,{{cite web |title=自民平沼氏と園田氏の復党を了承 |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20151002/k10010256481000.html |website=NHK Newsweb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002072205/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20151002/k10010256481000.html |archive-date=2 October 2015 |language=Japanese}} moved to the Kyūshū PR block in the 2017 electionLiberal Democratic Party: [http://jimin.ncss.nifty.com/pdf/news/activities/135811_1.pdf?2017100501 Nominated candidates (in both tiers) for the 48th general House of Representatives election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008231227/http://jimin.ncss.nifty.com/pdf/news/activities/135811_1.pdf?2017100501 |date=2017-10-08 }} {{in lang|ja}}

Yasushi Kaneko

| bgcolor={{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}} |

LDP

|2017–

|Represented the abolished Kumamoto 5th district 2000–2017

Election results

{{Election box begin | title=2024{{Cite web |last=日本放送協会 |title=衆議院選挙2024 埼玉(川越・越谷など)開票速報・選挙結果 NHK |url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/senkyo/database/shugiin/43/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=www.nhk.or.jp |language=ja}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Yasushi Kaneko

|votes = 119,947

|percentage = 58.28

|change = {{decrease}} 9.82

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

|candidate = Yukiko Sasamoto

|votes = 49,672

|percentage = 24.13

|change = {{decrease}} 7.77

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Nippon Ishin no Kai

|candidate = Masayoshi Yagami

|votes = 36,203

|percentage = 17.59

|change =New

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=205,822

|percentage = 54.78

|change= {{decrease}} 2.72

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

|winner= Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

}}

{{Election box begin | title=2021{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/senkyo/database/shugiin/2021/43/|script-title=ja: 小選挙区鹿熊本 4区|access-date=11 June 2023|publisher=NHK|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Yasushi Kaneko

|votes = 155,572

|percentage = 68.1

|change = {{increase}}5.3

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

|candidate = Masayoshi Yagami

|votes = 72,966

|percentage = 31.9

|change = {{decrease}}5.3

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes = 232,464

|percentage = 57.50

|change = {{decrease}}0.51

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

|winner= Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

}}

{{Election box begin|title=2017{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/senkyo/database/shugiin/2017/#!skh_4304|script-title=ja: 小選挙区鹿熊本 4区|access-date=11 June 2023|publisher=NHK|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Yasushi Kaneko

|votes = 150,453

|percentage = 62.8

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

|candidate = Masayoshi Yagami (won seat in the Kyūshū PR block)

|votes = 89,279

|percentage = 37.2

|change =

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes= 247,233

|percentage = 58.01

|change=

}}

{{Election box hold with party link without swing

|winner= Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

}}

{{Election box begin | title=2014{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/shugiin/2014/kaihyou/ya43.html|script-title=ja:総選挙2014>開票結果小選挙区熊本|work=Yomiuri Shimbun|access-date=2017-10-08|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=The Party for Japanese Kokoro|candidate=Hiroyuki Sonoda|votes=101,581|percentage=75.9|change=+10.0}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Japanese Communist Party|candidate=Eiji Iseri|votes=32,223|percentage=24.1|change=new}}

{{Election box gain with party link

|winner=Party for Japanese Kokoro

|loser=Japan Restoration Party

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin | title=2012{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/shugiin/2012/kaihyou/ya43.htm|script-title=ja:総選挙2012>開票結果小選挙区熊本|work=Yomiuri Shimbun|access-date=2013-06-05|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Japan Restoration Party

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 102,975

|percentage = 65.9

|change = +6.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Independent (politician)

|candidate = Masayoshi Yagami

|votes = 36,652

|percentage = 23.5

|change = new

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Japanese Communist Party

|candidate = Yōko Minoda

|votes = 16,585

|percentage = 10.6

|change = new

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=

|percentage=

|change=

}}

{{Election box gain with party link

|winner=Japan Restoration Party

|loser=Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin|title=2009{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/senkyo2009/kaihyo/A43004.html|script-title=ja:２００９総選挙開票結果小選挙区・熊本４区

|work=Asahi Shimbun|access-date=2013-06-05|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 123,900

|percentage = 59.2

|change = -9.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = People's New Party

|candidate = Shin'ichi Matsunaga

|votes = 78,811

|percentage = 37.6

|change = new

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Happiness Realization Party

|candidate = Ichirō Kōno

|votes = 6,668

|percentage = 3.2

|change = new

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=

|percentage=

|change=

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner=Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin|title=2005{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election2005/kaihyou/ya43.htm|script-title=ja:総選挙2005>開票結果小選挙区熊本|work=Yomiuri Shimbun|access-date=2013-03-15|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 136,380

|percentage = 68.3

|change = -5.3

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party of Japan

|candidate = Motosuke Matsumoto

|votes = 63,169

|percentage = 31.7

|change = new

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=

|percentage=

|change=

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner=Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin|title=2003{{cite web|url=http://www.mbs.jp/election2003/|script-title=ja:総選挙2003>小選挙区熊本|work=Mainichi Broadcasting System|access-date=2013-06-05|language=ja|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830231822/http://www.mbs.jp/election2003/|archive-date=2007-08-30}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 137,428

|percentage = 73.6

|change = -5.6

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Social Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Ikuo Morikawa

|votes = 36,977

|percentage = 19.8

|change = new

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Japanese Communist Party

|candidate = Shimako Iseri

|votes = 12,262

|percentage = 6.6

|change = new

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=

|percentage=

|change=

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner=Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin|title=2000{{cite web|url=http://go2senkyo.com/precinct/shugiin/kumamoto/20307|script-title=ja:第42回衆議院議員選挙 - 熊本4区|work=go2senkyo.com ザ･選挙|access-date=2013-06-05|publisher=VoiceJapan|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 149,156

|percentage = 79.2

|change = +20.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal League (Japan)

|candidate = Kōji Wakaki (? 若城浩史)

|votes = 21,028

|percentage = 11.2

|change = new

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Japanese Communist Party

|candidate = Keiichi Fukuda

|votes = 18,188

|percentage = 9.7

|change = new

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=

|percentage=

|change=

}}

{{Election box gain with party link

|winner=Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

|loser=New Party Sakigake

|swing=

}}

{{Election box begin|title=1996{{cite web|url=http://go2senkyo.com/precinct/shugiin/kumamoto/20932|script-title=ja:第41回衆議院議員選挙 - 熊本4区|work=go2senkyo.com ザ･選挙|access-date=2013-06-05|publisher=VoiceJapan|language=ja}}}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = New Party Sakigake

|candidate = Hiroyuki Sonoda

|votes = 117,441

|percentage = 59.0

|change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = New Frontier Party (Japan)

|candidate = Kimihiro Yasuda

|votes = 73,231

|percentage = 36.8