Amagasaki

Amagasaki (尼崎市, Amagasaki-shi) is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1916. Its population is around 460,000, below its peak of over 554,000 in 1971.

Amagasaki

尼崎市
Amagasaki Cultural Zone
Flag
Emblem
Location of Amagasaki in Hyōgo Prefecture
Amagasaki
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°44′N 135°24′E
CountryJapan
RegionKansai
PrefectureHyōgo Prefecture
Government
  MayorKazumi Inamura (Greens Japan)
Area
  Total49.77 km2 (19.22 sq mi)
Population
 (April 1, 2017)
  Total450,765
  Density9,100/km2 (23,000/sq mi)
Symbols
  TreeDogwood
  FlowerOleander
Time zoneUTC+9 (JST)
City hall address1-23-1 Higashinanamatsu-chō, Amagasaki-shi, Hyōgo-ken
660-8501
Websitewww.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp

As of April 2017, the city has an estimated population of 450,765 and a population density of 9,100 persons per km².[1] The total area is 49.77 km².

History

During the Edo period, the Amagasaki Domain had its administrative headquarters at Amagasaki Castle here.

Neighboring municipalities

Notable residents

Amagasaki is the hometown of comedy duo Downtown stars Masatoshi Hamada and Hitoshi Matsumoto. It is also the hometown of Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi, Chiyu, the bassist of SuG, author Koushun Takami and Heath, bassist of X Japan. Hideki Irabu, an ex-MLB pitcher and Toshiaki Nishioka, a former world champion boxer, is also from this area.

Transportation

Railways

A commuter train derailed on the Fukuchiyama Line near Amagasaki on April 25, 2005, resulting in more than 100 dead and 550 injured.

JR Amagasaki Station

Roads

Politics of Amagasaki

On 22 November 2010 Kazumi Inamura became the first popularly elected Greens Japan Mayor as well as the youngest popularly-elected female mayor of the city with 54% of the vote.[2]

Economy

Amagasaki is a major part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. Businesses headquartered in the city include manufacturers such as Osaka Titanium Technologies.[3] The value of manufactured goods shipments in Amagasaki was 1,288 billion yen in 2004.[4]

See also Hanshin Industrial Region.

Education

The city has a North Korean school, Amagasaki Korean Elementary and Middle School (尼崎朝鮮初中級学校).[5] It previously had a second school, Amagasaki East Korean Elementary School (尼崎東朝鮮初級学校).[5]

Sister cities

  • Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany - since April 7, 1959
  • Anshan, Liaoning, China - since February 2, 1983 (friendship city)
  • Kami, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan (Formerly Mikata) - since 1974 (friendship city)

Notable people from Amagasaki

Athletes

References

  1. "Official website of Amagasaki City" (in Japanese). Japan: Amagasaki City. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. "Kazumi Inamura receives 54% of the vote to become the first Green mayor elected in Japan". Global Greens. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  3. "Company Outline." Osaka Titanium Technologies. Retrieved on March 28, 2014.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2007-03-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ウリハッキョ一覧. Chongryon. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.()
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