In the past, Ryu Matsumoto of DP was an unrivaled candidate. However, he lost to Takahiro Inoue of LDP in the 2012 Japanese general election following a controversial remark he made while serving as Minister of Reconstruction.[1]
At the time, Yūji Shinkai, also an LDP member, was interested in running in the district.
Therefore, LDP decided to nominate Inoue and Shinkai as independent candidates and nominate the winning candidate. Inoue ultimately won the election,[2][3] and has since maintained a stable record of victory.