Koichi Kato, a former Liberal Democratic Party secretary general and one-time close ally of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who gave up his Diet seat amid a financial scandal last year, achieved a comeback in Sunday's election.
Kato, 64, secured a seat in the House of Representatives as an independent from Yamagata Prefecture's No. 3 district.
A one-time prime ministerial hopeful, Kato resigned from the governing LDP in March 2002 and quit the Diet the following month to take responsibility for his former top aide's 172 million yen tax evasion and other allegations involving his political funds.