Tochigi 1st district
Japanese electoral district
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tochigi 1st District (Japanese: 栃木県第1区, Hepburn: Tochigi-ken Dai-ichi ku) is a district of the Japanese House of Representatives located within Tochigi Prefecture. The district was created as part of the 1994 Japanese electoral reforms, replacing the multi-member districts with single-member districts and introducing proportional representation blocks.
| Tochigi 1st District | |
|---|---|
| 栃木県第1区 | |
| Constituency for the Japanese House of Representatives | |
| |
| Prefecture | Tochigi |
| Proportional District | Northern Kanto |
| Electorate | 417,774 (as of September 1, 2023)[1] |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1994 |
| Seats | One |
| Party | LDP |
| Representative | Hajime Funada |
| Municipalities | Utsunomiya (excluding the former towns of Kamikawachi and Kawachi), Kawachi District |
Area
Current district
As of 22 December 2024, The areas included in this district are as follows:[2][3]
- Parts of Utsunomiya
- Headquarters jurisdiction
- The villages of Hiraishi, Kiyohara, Yokokawa, Mizuhono, Shiroyama, Kunimoto, Tomiya, Toyosato, Shinoi and Sugatagawa.
- The town of Suzumenomiya
- The neighbourhoods of Takagi and Yonan
- Kawachi District
Areas from 2013 to 2022
From the first redistricting in 2013 until the second redistricting in 2022, the areas covered by this district were as follows:[4][5]
- Parts of Utsunomiya
- Headquarters jurisdiction
- The villages of Hiraishi, Kiyohara, Yokokawa, Mizuhono, Shiroyama, Kunimoto, Tomiya, Toyosato, Shinoi, and Sugatagawa
- The town of Suzumenomiya
- The neighbourhoods of Takagi and Yonan
- Shimotsuke
- Kawachi District
Areas from before 2013
From the founding of the district in 1994 to the first redistricting in 2013, the areas covered by this district were as follows:[6]
- Utsunomiya
- Kawachi
History
This district is an urban one centered around Tochigi's prefectural capital of Utsunomiya, formed from parts of the older multi-member 1st District following the 1994 electoral reforms. The district is known as a Conservative Kingdom, with 3 generations of the Funada family, who have always served as president of the local Sakushin Gakuin University, having been elected either in this district or in the previous larger district.
There have been only 2 times where a member of the Funada party has lost the election. The first occurred in the year 2000, when incumbent candidate Hajime Funada lost to Democratic Party newcomer Hiroko Mizushima by about 16,000 votes. Funada was able to retake the seat in 2003 and hold it again in 2005, thanks in part to the popularity of Junichiro Koizumi's government. However, in 2009 he lost again, this time to newcomer Hisashi Ishimori of the Democratic Party.
Ishimori would not be able to hold this seat in the next election however, suffering a crushing defeat to Funada after losing 90,000 votes over the previous election. Following this election, Funada has won every election and is still the incumbent.
Elected representatives
| Representative | Party | Years served | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime Funada | Ind. | 1996-1997 | Initially a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he left that party to help found the New Frontier Party, following his decision to support a no-confidence motion in the LDP government. He then left the New Frontier Party in September 1996, standing in that years election as an independent. In January 1997, Funada rejoined the Liberal Democratic Party, four years after he initially left it. | |
| LDP | 1997-2000 | |||
| Hiroko
Mizushima |
DPJ | 2000-2003 | ||
| Hajime Funada | LDP | 2003-2009 | ||
| Hisashi Ishimori | DPJ | 2009-2012 | ||
| Hajime Funada | LDP | 2012- | Incumbent | |
Election results
(*) - indicates an incumbent representative of the district
(†) - indicates an incumbent of the Northern Kanto proportional district
(‡) - indicates a candidate was elected to the Northern Kanto proportional district
2026
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada | 85,199 | 40.5 |  0.58 | |
| Centrist Reform | Atsushi Koike | 45,243 | 21.5 |  10.56 | |
| Ishin | Yuji Kashiwakura (elected in N. Kanto PR block) |
41,233 | 19.6 | 3.58 | |
| Sanseitō | Noriaki Omori | 29,337 | 14 | ||
| JCP | Hiroshi Aoki | 6,452 | 3.1 | 1.74 | |
| Independent | Bunzaburo Ishikawa | 2,821 | 1.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 415,679 | ||||
| Turnout | 210,285 | 51.60 | 3.10 | ||
| LDP hold | |||||
2024
2021
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada*[n 1] | 102,870 | 46.15 | 5.28 | |
| CDP | Noriyoshi Watanabe | 66,700 | 29.92 | New | |
| Ishin | Yuji Kashiwakura | 43,935 | 19.71 | New | |
| JCP | Hiroshi Aoki | 9,393 | 4.22 | 3.60 | |
| Registered electors | 434,814 | 2,196 | |||
| Turnout | 52.42 | 2.35 | |||
| LDP hold | |||||
2017
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada*[n 1] | 109,139 | 51.87 | 4.58 | |
| Kibō no Tō | Yuji Kashiwakura | 51,122 | 24.30 | New | |
| Independent | Noriyoshi Watanabe[n 3] | 33,681 | 16.01 | New | |
| JCP | Hiroshi Aoki | 16,463 | 7.82 | 3.23 | |
| Registered electors | 432,618 | 11,617 | |||
| Turnout | 50.07 | 1.79 | |||
| LDP hold | |||||
2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada*[n 1] | 110,030 | 56.45 | 9.82 | |
| Democratic | Yuji Kashiwakura†[n 4] | 63,332 | 32.49 | 6.34 | |
| JCP | Setsuko Nomura | 21,543 | 11.05 | 6.47 | |
| Registered electors | 421,001 | 3,091 | |||
| Turnout | 48.28 | 4.75 | |||
| LDP hold | |||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada[n 1] | 100,133 | 46.63 | 5.33 | |
| Democratic | Hisashi Ishimori*[n 5] | 56,143 | 26.15 | 27.84 | |
| Your | Daiju Araki[n 6] | 50,771 | 23.64 | New | |
| JCP | Akio Tabe | 7,687 | 3.58 | 0.29 | |
| Registered electors | 417,910 | 4,348 | |||
| Turnout | 53.03 | 13.43 | |||
| LDP gain from Democratic | |||||
2009
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hisashi Ishimori[n 5] | 145,702 | 53.99 | 13.45 | |
| LDP | Hajime Funada*[n 1] | 111,455 | 41.30 | 14.13 | |
| JCP | Kazunori Koike | 8,883 | 3.29 | 0.71 | |
| Happiness Realization | Hiroyuki Kawachi | 3,386 | 1.42 | New | |
| Registered electors | 413,562 | 10,290 | |||
| Turnout | 66.46 | 1.88 | |||
| Democratic gain from LDP | |||||
2005
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada* | 141,868 | 55.43 | 2.36 | |
| Democratic | Hiroko Mizushima† | 103,757 | 40.54 | 3.42 | |
| JCP | Setsuko Nomura | 10,301 | 4.03 | 1.06 | |
| Registered electors | 403,272 | 6,376 | |||
| Turnout | 64.58 | 4.85 | |||
| LDP hold | |||||
2003
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Hajime Funada* | 123,297 | 53.07 | 12.33 | |
| Democratic | Hiroko Mizushima‡ | 102,127 | 43.96 | 4.01 | |
| JCP | Akio Tabe | 6,904 | 2.97 | 1.68 | |
| Registered electors | 396,896 | 10,911 | |||
| Turnout | 59.73 | 0.03 | |||
| LDP gain from Democratic | |||||
2000
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hiroko Mizushima | 107,634 | 47.97 | New | |
| LDP | Hajime Funada* | 91,411 | 40.74 | New | |
| Social Democratic | Ryuji Yagi | 10,584 | 4.72 | New | |
| JCP | Setsuko Nomura | 10,422 | 4.65 | 1.39 | |
| Liberal League | Hirotsugu Nishi | 4,319 | 1.92 | 0.24 | |
| Registered electors | 385,985 | 15,429 | |||
| Turnout | 59.70 | 5.68 | |||
| Democratic gain from LDP | |||||
1996
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Hajime Funada | 127,503 | 63.36 | |
| Democratic | Susumu Yanase[n 7] | 57,420 | 28.44 | |
| JCP | Tomoji Taki | 12,154 | 6.04 | |
| Liberal League | Hiroshi Nishi | 4,345 | 2.16 | |
| Registered electors | 370,556 | |||
| Turnout | 65.38 | |||
| Independent win (new seat) | ||||
Notes
- Yuka is a joint candidate also supported by the Tochigi branch of the Social Democratic Party
- Watanabe was recommened by the Tochigi branch of the Democratic Party of Japan
- Kashiwakura ran for Tochigi's 2nd district in the 2012 Japanese general election. Even though he lost the district, he gained enough votes to be elected to the North Kanto proportional block
- Ishimori was recommended by the People's New Party
- Araki was recommended by the Japan Restoration Party
- Yanase was previously a representative of the multi-member Tochigi 1st District before the 1994 Japanese electoral reform replaced the district with the current single-member district