Hokkaidō 7th district is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives

House of Representatives of Japan

The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...

 in the Diet of Japan

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

. It is located in Japan's northernmost prefecture Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

. In a 2002 redistricting and reapportionment, Hokkaidō lost one seat and what had been the Hokkaido 13th district in the 1996 and 2000 general elections was renamed the 7th district. The previous 7th district was split up: The largest part became the new 6th district, some parts were transferred to the 10th and 12th districts.

Current 7th district

The old 13th/current 7th district is located in Eastern Hokkaidō and covers the Kushiro

Kushiro Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan.-Towns and villages by district:* Akan District** Tsurui* Akkeshi District** Akkeshi** Hamanaka* Kawakami District** Shibecha** Teshikaga* Kushiro District** Kushiro* Shiranuka District** Shiranuka- History :...

 and Nemuro

Nemuro Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. The Japanese claim the disputed Southern Kurile Islands as part of this subprefecture....

 subprefectures, in the Japanese viewpoint theoretically including the "Northern Territories

Kuril Islands dispute

The Kuril Islands dispute , also known as the , is a dispute between Japan and Russia over sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands. The disputed islands, which were occupied by Soviet forces during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation at the end of World War II, are under Russian...

 (Southern Kuriles) administered by the Russian Federation. As of 2009, 278,402 eligible voters were registered in the district.

The district is currently represented by freshman Liberal Democrat Yoshitaka Itō (Ibuki faction). In the 2009 general election, the 7th district was the only district countrywide where a Democratic incumbent lost his seat and the only district in Hokkaidō the LDP could win. In the previous election of 2005 when the LDP won a landslide victory, it was one of few districts where a Democrat could unseat a Liberal Democratic incumbent.

List of Representatives

Representative	Party		Dates	Notes
Hokkaidō 13th district
Naoto Kitamura		NFP New Frontier Party The was a Japanese political party that existed during the mid-1990s. As a merger of several small parties, the party was ideologically diverse, with its membership ranging from moderate socialists to neoliberals and conservatives...	1996–2000	Left NFP in 1997 and returned to the LDP
		LDP Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...	2000–2003
Hokkaidō 7th district
Naoto Kitamura		LDP	2003–2005	Failed reelection in the Hokkaidō PR block
Hiroko Nakano Hiroko Nakano is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Mutsu, Aomori and graduate of Hirosaki Gakuin University she was elected to the Diet for the first time in 2003 after serving in the city assembly of Nemuro,...		DPJ	2005–2009	Reelected in the Hokkaidō PR block
Yoshitaka Itō		LDP	2009–	Incumbent

Election results

Previous 7th district 1996–2000

The old 7th district covered Northern Hokkaidō and consisted of the Kamikawa

Kamikawa Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. The name is derived from Kamikawa no hitobito no Shūraku , a translation of the Ainu Peni Unguri Kotan. Settlement began in 1867...

, Rumoi

Rumoi Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. As of 2004, it had a population of 63,406 and an area of 4,019.97km².-Towns and villages by district:* Mashike District** Mashike* Rumoi District** Obira* Teshio District** Enbetsu** Horonobe** Teshio...

 and Sōya

Soya Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. Its population is estimated to be 77,500 as of July 31, 2004 and its area is 4,050.84 km². It is the northernmost subprefecture of Japan.Wakkanai Airport is located in Wakkanai...

 subprefectures. Its only representative was Liberal Democrat Eikō Kaneta who had to share an alternating LDP candidacy in the new Hokkaidō 6th district with Hiroshi Imazu

Hiroshi Imazu

is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Asahikawa, Hokkaidō and graduate of Chuo University, he was elected to the first of his two terms in the city assembly of Asahikawa in 1975, to the first of his two terms in...

 after the redistricting (Costa Rica method).

List of Representatives

Representative	Party		Dates	Notes
Hokkaidō 7th district
Eikō Kaneta		LDP Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...	1996–2003	Moved to PR (Costa Rica method), reelected in the Hokkaidō PR block

Election results