is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, Honda represents Hokkaido through the Hokkaido PR block. Honda first ran for office in the 2003 election as the DPJ candidate for the

Saitama 12th district Saitama 12th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. List of Representatives Election Results 2021 2017 2014 2012 2009 2005 2003 *Honda was elected in No ...

, losing against the incumbent Toshio Masuda. He obtained a seat in the House in 2004 after a fellow DPJ member from the same proportional representation block resigned his PR block seat to run in the

Saitama 8th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

by-election. Honda remained a member until 2005, when he was defeated by

Toshio Kojima is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kumagaya, Saitama and graduate of Chuo University, he had served in the city assembly of Kumag ...

in the Saitama-12th race. He would have a rematch with Kojima in the 2009 general election, when the DPJ won power from the LDP. He won by a 40,000-vote majority. During the DPJ's time in power, Honda served as a Special Adviser to Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The minister is also a statutory member of the National Security Council, and is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan ...

under Prime Minister

Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives (lower house) in the Diet (national legislature). He was named to succeed Naoto K ...

. The LDP landslide in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

swept Honda from his seat. He recontested the district in the 2014 election, again defeated by Atsushi Nonaka. After being replaced by Toshikazu Morita as the DP candidate for Saitama-12th for the 2017 election, Honda moved to the

Hokkaido 4th district is a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It represents Shiribeshi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, including the city of Otaru, as well as Teine Ward and a portion of Nishi ...

which encompasses parts of his hometown Sapporo. He contested the district for the first time in 2017 as a candidate for the post-split CDP. While losing against the incumbent

Hiroyuki Nakamura Hiroyuki Nakamura (中村ひろゆき, born February 23, 1961) is a Japanese politician who has served in the Japanese House of Representatives as a representative from the Hokkaido 4th district is a single-member electoral district for the Hou ...

, Honda obtained enough votes to be elected through the CDP's PR block list. Honda is married to fellow representative

Chinami Nishimura is a Japanese voice actress from Chiba Prefecture, and affiliated with 81 Produce. Her major roles include Fake Yuna and Miki Shiratori in ''Galaxy Fraulein Yuna'', Neko Musume in '' GeGeGe no Kitaro'', Junsa (Officer Jenny) in ''Pokémon'', ...

. The couple's main witness at their marriage was former Prime Minister

Naoto Kan is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011. Kan was the first Prime Minister since the resignation of Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 to serve for m ...

. They are one of the three married couples currently sitting in the Diet, besides

Taku Yamamoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) until 2021, when he lost his seat. A native of Sabae, Fukui and graduate of Hosei University, he was elected to ...

Sanae Takaichi is a Japanese politician who has served as the Minister of State for Economic Security since August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she has served in the House of Representatives since 2005, and had also served in several minist ...

and Taku Ōtsuka- Tamayo Marukawa. In late July, 2021, it was reported that during a closed Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) meeting convened to discuss raising the age of consent from 13 to 16, Hiranao Honda said that, as a man in his 50s, he thought that it is “strange” that he might be arrested if he had sex with a 14-year-old girl who consented to the act. In reaction to the public outrage and the CDP's planned further punishment due to said outrage, he quit the party and his seat.

References

External links

Official website
in Japanese. {{DEFAULTSORT:Honda, Hiranao 1964 births Living people Politicians from Hokkaido Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan politicians Democratic Party of Japan politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians People from Sapporo