 Yamamoto lost his seat for a brief period of two years after he rejoined the LDP for the election of 2003.Takeda, who this time conversely ran as an independent, defeated Yamamoto by 16,000 votes.Takeda went on to rejoin the LDP in 2004, but was rejected the party position for the 2005 election due to his opposition of the Although Yamamoto took the main LDP slot in an attempt for a 2005 comeback, Takeda had overwhelming support from the Komeito party, narrowly defeating Yamamoto—since he was simultaneously running for a proportionally represented constituency seat as well, however, Yamamoto was able to secure a position in the .