Okinawa at-large district


The Okinawa at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It consists of the entire prefecture of Okinawa and was created in 1970 following the agreement between US president Richard Nixon and prime minister Eisaku Satō on restoration of Japanese sovereignty over the Ryūkyū islands. Okinawa is represented by two Councillors electing one every three years.
Single-member districts for the House of Councillors usually get higher attention in House of Councillors elections because they are easier to swing completely than multi-member districts and thus play a decisive role for the outcome of elections. As a result of the concentrated US military presence in Okinawa, the prefecture has become a focal point of political debate over the mutual security treaty which is the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy. The district was in many elections contested between only two candidates backed by the major postwar parties, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Socialist Party. The Japanese Communist Party in Okinawa unlike in most other districts for national elections cooperated with the Socialists in nominating candidates in the form of the Kakushin Tōitsu.
Current Councillors for Okinawa are: