Takumi Ihara
Takumi Ihara | |
|---|---|
井原 巧 | |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Yoichi Shiraishi |
| Constituency | Ehime 2nd |
| In office 1 November 2021 – 9 October 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Yoichi Shiraishi |
| Succeeded by | Junji Hasegawa |
| Constituency | Ehime 3rd |
| Member of the House of Councillors | |
| In office 29 July 2013 – 28 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Toshirō Tomochika |
| Succeeded by | Takako Nagae |
| Constituency | Ehime at-large |
| Mayor of Shikokuchūō | |
| In office 28 April 2004 – 27 April 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Minoru Shinohara |
| Member of the Ehime Prefectural Assembly | |
| In office 1995–2004 | |
| Constituency | Iyomishima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1963 Iyomishima, Ehime Prefecture, Japan |
| Party | LDP |
| Alma mater | Senshu University |
Takumi Ihara (井原 巧, Takumi Ihara; born 13 November 1963) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the House of Representatives.[1]
Political career
In 1995, Ihara ran for the Ehime Prefectural Assembly and was elected.
In 2004, he resigned as a member of the Ehime Prefectural Assembly and ran for mayor of the newly established Shikokuchūō city. He was elected and became the 1st mayor of Shikokuchūō city.
In 2013, Ihara ran for Ehime at-large district nominated by LDP and was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time.[2]
In 2016, he was appointed to Parliamentary vice-minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Parliamentary vice-minister of the Cabinet Office, and Parliamentary vice-minister of Reconstruction.[3]
In January 2019, Ihara announced that he would not run for the House of Councillors in July but would run for the House of Representatives for Ehime 3rd. It was announced at the same time that TV-personality Rakusaburo will run for the House of Councillors from Ehime at-large to replace Ihara.[4]
In 2021, Ihara ran in the general election from Ehime 3rd and was elected for the first time by defeating CDP incumbent Yoichi Shiraishi.[5]
In 2022, Constituencies in Ehime Prefecture was reduced from four to three due to the change in the division of the House of Representatives. Accordingly, Ihara would run for Newly Ehime 2nd and former Ehime 2nd Incumbent Seiichiro Murakami would ran in the Shikoku PR block.[6]
In the 2024 LDP presidential election, Ihara voted for Shigeru Ishiba in both first votes and run-off votes.[7]
On October 6 2024, PM Ishiba decided not to nominate members who were suspended from their membership in the general election, and announced that 43 lawmakers, including Ihara, would not be allowed to run for proportional representation block because of the involvement in the slush fund scandal.[8] In response to Ishiba's decision, Ihara accepted the decision, saying, "LDP and my faction have lost political trust, so if the party apologizes for it and wants to start anew, I have no choice but to take it seriously and do my best." However, Ihara added "I explained it at a press conference, explained it in the party's investigation, and there was no punishment related to the Party Ethics Committee."[9]
In the 2024 general election, he ran for Ehime 2nd and lost to Shiraishi (CDP).[10]
In the 2026 general election, he ran from Ehime 2nd and won the CRA's Shiraishi to regain his seat.[11]
Scandal
On 13 February 2024, LDP released the results of a survey of all Diet members belonging to the LDP over the slush fund scandal held by five LDP factions. It was revealed that Ihara used a total of 1.68 million yen as slush funds for five years from 2018 to 2022 as a kickback from the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai (Abe faction) for quota excess.[12]
On 14 May 2024, the House of Representatives Political Ethics Committee unanimously passed the opposition's petition to attend and explain 44 LDP members who were involved in the slush fund scandal but did not explain themselves to the committee.[13]
On 17 May 2024, the House of Councillors Political Ethics Committee unanimously passed a petition for attendance and explanation to 29 members who had not made excuses. All 73 Diet members, including Ihara, refused to attend, and the ordinary Diet session was closed on 23 June 2024.[14]
References
- ^ "Takumi Ihara". LDP (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "井原氏、一夜明け街頭演説". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 23 July 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "副大臣、20人交代 閣議決定". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "友近の元相方が参院選で自民から出馬 応援演説でコンビ復活なるか！？". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "自民、愛媛の4議席独占 3区で立憲前職に勝利、4年ぶりの奪還". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1 November 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "「新2区は井原氏」意見多数 自民党愛媛県連、次期衆院選". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 22 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "愛媛県選出議員の投票先は… 自民党新総裁に石破氏". i-Television (in Japanese). 27 September 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "裏金議員43人の比例重複認めず 萩生田氏ら6人は非公認 首相表明". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 6 October 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "重複立候補認められず 井原巧氏「深く受け止める」 一方「忸怩たる思いがある。記者会見でも説明した」 自民党の裏金事件巡り". TBS Television (in Japanese). 8 October 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "【開票結果】裏金問題の逆風は"自民王国"にも… 愛媛2区の自民・井原巧氏が落選 不記載で重複立候補できず【全候補者得票数掲載 衆議院議員選挙2024】". TBS Television (in Japanese). 28 October 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "愛媛２区、自民党の井原巧氏が当選". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 9 February 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "【一覧】自民党「裏金」調査 最多は二階俊博氏 85人が記載漏れ、誤記載を申告、5年で計5.7億円超". Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 13 February 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "衆院政倫審での弁明、裏金議員44人全員が拒否 全会一致の議決でも". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 20 May 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "裏金議員73人、政倫審に応ぜず閉会 「レッテル貼られるだけ」". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 24 June 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2026.