| Election Name: | 2016 Kyoto 3rd district by-election |
| Country: | Japan |
| Type: | by-election |
| Seats For Election: | Kyoto 3rd district |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2014 Japanese general election |
| Previous Year: | 2014 |
| Next Election: | Next Japanese general election |
| Next Year: | Next |
| Election Date: | 24 April 2016 |
| Turnout: | 30.12% |
| Nominee1: | Kenta Izumi |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (Japan, 2016) |
| Popular Vote1: | 65,051 |
| Percentage1: | 65.42% |
| Nominee2: | Natsue Mori |
| Party2: | Initiatives from Osaka |
| Popular Vote2: | 20,710 |
| Percentage2: | 20.83% |
| Nominee3: | Yukiko Ono |
| Party3: | The Party for Japanese Kokoro |
| Popular Vote3: | 6,449 |
| Percentage3: | 6.49% |
| Nominee4: | Masafumi Tabuchi |
| Party4: | Independent (politician) |
| Popular Vote4: | 4,599 |
| Percentage4: | 4.63% |
| Nominee5: | Mitsuko Ōyagi |
| Party5: | Happiness Realization Party |
| Popular Vote5: | 2,247 |
| Percentage5: | 2.26% |
| Nominee6: | Akihiko Kōri |
| Party6: | Independent (politician) |
| Popular Vote6: | 370 |
| Percentage6: | 0.37% |
| Representative | |
| Before Election: | Kensuke Miyazaki |
| Before Party: | Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) |
| After Election: | Kenta Izumi |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (Japan, 2016) |
A by-election for the Kyoto-3rd seat in the Japanese House of Representatives was held on 24 April 2016, coinciding with the by-election in Hokkaido. The seat became vacant after sitting member Kensuke Miyazaki resigned on 12 February 2016 in the midst of an extramarital affair scandal.[1] Miyazaki, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, served the district from 2012. He defeated Democratic Party MP Kenta Izumi by slim margins in the 2012 (0.1%) and 2014 (2.7%) elections.
Izumi managed to wrest back his old seat by a landslide, eclipsing his nearest rival by 45 percentage points.[2] [3]
The district had 344,696 registered voters for the election, an increase of 0.12% since the 2014 general election.[4] As the voting age for national elections was decreased to 18 years in June 2016,[5] this by-election, along with the Hokkaido by-election, were the last national-level election with a minimum voting age of 20 years. The by-elections were the first national-level elections contested by the Democratic Party, Initiatives from Osaka party and Party for Japanese Kokoro under their respective current names.[6] The Communist Party also chose not to field a candidate in the election, despite receiving 27,000 votes (16%) in the 2014 election.[6]
The by-election was a six-way race. The LDP decided against fielding a candidate due to the perceived anti-LDP sentiment in light of the Miyazaki scandal.[9] Party bosses were also worried that a heavy defeat in Kyoto might affect LDP's campaign for the House of Councillors election in summer.[10] [11]
| Candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party for Japanese Kokoro | Yukiko Ono | Endorsed by the New Renaissance Party | |
| Independent | Masafumi Tabuchi | ||
| Happiness Realization Party | Mitsuko Ōyagi | ||
| Initiatives from Osaka | Natsue Mori | ||
| Democratic | Kenta Izumi | Endorsed by the Social Democratic Party. Representative of the district for three terms (2003-2012). Lost the district in 2012 and 2014 but remained in the House via the Kinki PR block. | |
| Independent | Akihiro Kōri | ||
Note:
1 The percentage swing for the Democratic Party candidate is calculated based on the vote share obtained by its predecessor, DPJ.
2 The percentage swing for the Initiatives from Osaka candidate is calculated based on the vote share obtained by its predecessor, Japan Innovation Party.