Kagoshima 3rd 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 Western Kagoshima

Kagoshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...

 and consists of the cities of Satsumasendai

Satsumasendai, Kagoshima

is a city located in Kagoshima, Japan. It was established on October 12, 2004 with the merger of the city of Sendai, Kagoshima, the towns of Hiwaki, Iriki, Kedōin and Tōgō, and Koshikijima Islands , all from Satsuma District.As of January 1, 2008, the city had an estimated population of 100,730 in...

, Makurazaki

Makurazaki, Kagoshima

is a city located in Kagoshima, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 24,126 and the density of 322 persons per km². The total area is 74.88 km².The city was founded on September 1, 1949....

, Ichikikushikino

Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima

is a city located in Kagoshima, Japan.The city was founded on October 11, 2005 from the merger of the city of Kushikino with the town of Ichiki, from Hioki District.At the end of May 2008, the city has an estimated population of 31,827...

, Hioki

Hioki, Kagoshima

is a city located in Kagoshima, Japan.As of May 1, 2010, the city had a population of 51,819 and a density of 205 persons per km². The total area is 253.06 km²....

, Minamisatsuma

Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima

is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on November 7, 2005 from the merger of the old city of Kaseda, with the town of Kinpō, from Hioki District, and the towns of Bonotsu, Kasasa and Ōura, all from Kawanabe District, ....

, Minamikyūshū

Minamikyushu, Kagoshima

is a city on the southern tip of Satsuma Peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.As of March 31, 2011, the city has a population of 39,738, with a household number of 17,288 and an area of 357.85 km²...

 (without the former town of Ei

Ei, Kagoshima

was a town located in Ibusuki District, Kagoshima, Japan.On December 1, 2007 Ei was merged with the towns of Chiran and Kawanabe, both from Kawanabe District, to form the new city of Minamikyūshū....

), the former towns of Kōriyama

Koriyama, Kagoshima

was a town located in Hioki District, Kagoshima, Japan.On November 1, 2004 Kōriyama, along with the town of Matsumoto, also from Hioki District, the town of Kiire, from Ibusuki District, and the towns of Sakurajima and Yoshida, both from Kagoshima District, was merged into the expanded city of...

 and Matsumoto

Matsumoto, Kagoshima

was a town located in Hioki District, Kagoshima, Japan.On November 1, 2004 Matsumoto, along with the town of Kōriyama, also from Hioki District, the town of Kiire, from Ibusuki District, and the towns of Sakurajima and Yoshida, both from Kagoshima District, was merged into the expanded city of...

 in the current city of Kagoshima

Kagoshima, Kagoshima

is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyūshū island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some margin...

 and the town of Satsuma

Satsuma, Kagoshima

is a town located in Satsuma District, Kagoshima, Japan.The town was formed March 22, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Miyanojō, Tsuruda, and a former town with the English name of Satsuma , all from Satsuma District....

 in Satsuma county. As of 2009, 265,049 eligible voters were registered in the district.

Before the electoral reform of 1994, the area was split between the multi-member districts Kagoshima 1 that elected four Representatives by single non-transferable vote

Single non-transferable vote

The single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used in multi-member constituency elections.- Voting :In any election, each voter casts one vote for one candidate in a multi-candidate race for multiple offices. Posts are filled by the candidates with the most votes...

 and Kagoshima 2 with three representatives.

After its creation, the new 3rd district was initially a solid "conservative kingdom", a safe seat for the Liberal Democratic Party. Its first representative Tadahiro Matsushita

Tadahiro Matsushita

is a Japanese politician and five-time member of the House of Representatives of Japan. He has been involved in government since 1962 when he joined the Ministry of Construction. He is currently the Senior Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry....

 (Obuchi faction, pre-reform: 2nd district) was followed by Kazuaki Miyaji

Kazuaki Miyaji

is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party , a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Kawanabe District, Kagoshima and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. He was elected to the House of...

 (Mitsuzuka faction, pre-reform: 1st district) in 2000. Matsushita became a representative for the Kyūshū proportional representation block. In the "postal Diet" of 2005, he was a postal privatization rebel and tried to retake Kagoshima 3rd district as an independent in the ensuing snap election but lost to Miyaji. After initially declaring his retirement from politics, Matsushita returned in 2009 as a candidate for the People's New Party

People's New Party

The People's New Party is a centre-right, Conservative, Japanese political party formed on 17 August 2005 in the aftermath of the defeat of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Japan Post privatisation bills which led to a snap election.-History:The Kokumin Shinto, headed by Shizuka Kamei, includes...

 with Democratic support and won the district against Miyaji.

List of Representatives

Representative	Party		Dates	Notes
Tadahiro Matsushita Tadahiro Matsushita is a Japanese politician and five-time member of the House of Representatives of Japan. He has been involved in government since 1962 when he joined the Ministry of Construction. He is currently the Senior Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry....		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...	1996–2000
Kazuaki Miyaji Kazuaki Miyaji is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party , a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Kawanabe District, Kagoshima and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. He was elected to the House of...		LDP	2000–2009	Failed reelection in the Kyūshū PR block
Tadahiro Matsushita		PNP People's New Party The People's New Party is a centre-right, Conservative, Japanese political party formed on 17 August 2005 in the aftermath of the defeat of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Japan Post privatisation bills which led to a snap election.-History:The Kokumin Shinto, headed by Shizuka Kamei, includes...	2009–present	Incumbent

Election results