Akihiro Ota (太田 昭宏 Ōta Akihiro, born October 6, 1945) is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). In 2006 Ota became the president of Komeito Party, replacing Takenori Kanzaki. A native of Shinshiro, Aichi, Ota attended Kyoto University and received a master's degree from it. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 after an unsuccessful run in 1990. In the Japanese general election, 2009 he led his party to a major defeat at the hands of the left, losing power to the Democratic Party of Japan, and lost his own seat in the process. He was replaced as party leader by Natsuo Yamaguchi on 8 September 2009.