| Okinawa 3rd District | |
| Type: | Parliamentary |
| Constituency Link: | Okinawa 3rd district |
| Parl Name: | Japanese House of Representatives |
| Map Size: | 450px |
| District Label: | Prefecture |
| District: | Okinawa |
| Region Label: | Proportional District |
| Region: | Kyushu |
| Electorate: | 316,908 (2021) |
| Year: | 1994 |
| Members Label: | Representative |
| Members: | Aiko Shimajiri |
| Seats: | One |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Party Label: | Party |
| Party: | LDP |
| Blank1 Name: | Municipalities |
| Blank1 Info: | Nago, Okinawa City, Uruma, Kunigami District and parts of Shimajiri District (Iheya and Izena) |
Okinawa 3rd district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Okinawa Prefecture and encompasses the cities of Nago, Okinawa, Uruma, Kunigami District and parts of Shimajiri District (Iheya and Izena). As of 2016, 312,171 eligible voters were registered in the district.[1]
In 2018 the district was represented by Denny Tamaki of the Liberal Party who automatically forfeited his seat after becoming a gubernatorial candidate in September. The by-election was not held in the immediate by-election slot in October 2018, but only in April 2019 because a Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the malapportionment in the last general election to the House of Representatives was still pending.[2] [3] The by-election date was later announced to be 21 April 2019. In the 2019 election, Tomohiro Yara, freelance journalist and strong opponent of the relocation of the Futenma US Marine base, defeated Aiko Shimajiri, former member of the Diet Upper House and minister.[4] However, the 2021 general elections reversed the results.[5] Reportedly, this was due to increased support for the LDP among younger voters because of the party's harder line on China and proactive security policy.[6]
| Representative | Party | Dates | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kōsuke Uehara | bgcolor= | SDP | 1996 – 2000 | ||
| Mitsuko Tōmon | bgcolor= | SDP | 2000 – 2003 | ||
| Chiken Kakazu | bgcolor= | LDP | 2003 – 2009 | ||
| Denny Tamaki | bgcolor= | DPJ | 2009 – 2012 | ||
| bgcolor= | PLF | 2012 | |||
| bgcolor= | TPJ | 2012 | |||
| Natsumi Higa | bgcolor= | LDP | 2012 – 2014 | ||
| Denny Tamaki | bgcolor= | LP | 2014 – 2017 | ||
| bgcolor= | Ind. | 2017 – 2018 | Resigned to run in the 2018 Okinawa gubernatorial election | ||
| Vacant (September 2018 – April 2019) | |||||
| Tomohiro Yara | bgcolor= | Ind. | 2019 – 2021 | ||
| Aiko Shimajiri | bgcolor= | LDP | 2021 – | ||