In July 2004 Funayama contested the
House of Councillors election as a
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) candidate in the
Yamagata At-large district but lost to the incumbent,
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member
Koichi Kishi. At the
July 2007 election she again contested the Yamagata district as a DPJ candidate and was successful, claiming 57.3% of the vote. Funayama served as a Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the cabinets of prime ministers
Yukio Hatoyama and
Naoto Kan from September 2009 until September 2010. In July 2012 Funayama resigned from the DPJ and formed the
Green Wind party with three other women Councillors. She sought reelection at the
July 2013 election but lost to LDP candidate
Mizuho Onuma. Green Wind dissolved at the end of that year. In December 2015 Funayama announced her intention to contest the
2016 House of Councillors election as an independent. == References ==