2 district, was previously a stronghold for the rival Liberal Democratic Party.

[1] Following a large-scale upturn by the Liberal Democratic Party, Hiraoka lost his seat by 588 votes, remaining in the Lower House through a process known as proportional representation.

[1] Hiraoka was later appointed state secretary for internal affairs and communications in 2010.

[1] He was defeated by Nobuo Kishi (a brother of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and grandson of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi) in the 2012 Japanese general election, and lost his Diet seat.

In 2015, he retired from politics and moved to Tokyo to take up law practice at a firm in Ginza.