Iizuka, Fukuoka
Encyclopedia
is a city
located at the confluence of the Honami
and Onga
rivers in central Fukuoka Prefecture
, Japan
.
Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō
during the Edo
Era. As Japan
industrialised, Iizuka became the center of the most productive coal
fields in Japan located throughout the surrounding Chikuho district. After the end of Second World War there was a large influx of people into the city as it was one of the few areas that offered a large number of jobs in the coal mines and related fields.
Since the coal mines closed, Iizuka city has suffered from a consistently declining population base. However, its proximity to both Fukuoka
city and Kitakyushu city cushioned the effect of the coal industry shutdown and kept the local economy from going into freefall. Now Iizuka has a strong light industrial base and is a center for education
and a rapidly expanding IT
economy.
As of 2008, the former city has an estimated population
of 132,208 and a density
of 617 persons per km². The total area is 214.13 km².
The city was founded on January 20, 1932.
On March 26, 2006, the city merged with the former municipalities (all from Kaho District
) and the new Iizuka was born.
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...
located at the confluence of the Honami
Honami, Fukuoka
was a town located in Kaho District, Fukuoka, Japan.On March 26, 2006 Honami, along with the towns of Chikuho, Kaita and Shōnai, all from Kaho District, was merged into the expanded city of Iizuka....
and Onga
Onga
Onga may refer to:*Onga District, Fukuoka, a district of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan**Onga, Fukuoka, a town in that district*Onga, Hungary, a village*Onga, Gabon...
rivers in central Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō
Kaido
were ancient roads in Japan dating from the Edo period. Major examples include the Edo Five Routes, all of which started at Edo...
during the Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
Era. As Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
industrialised, Iizuka became the center of the most productive coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
fields in Japan located throughout the surrounding Chikuho district. After the end of Second World War there was a large influx of people into the city as it was one of the few areas that offered a large number of jobs in the coal mines and related fields.
Since the coal mines closed, Iizuka city has suffered from a consistently declining population base. However, its proximity to both Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
city and Kitakyushu city cushioned the effect of the coal industry shutdown and kept the local economy from going into freefall. Now Iizuka has a strong light industrial base and is a center for education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and a rapidly expanding IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
economy.
As of 2008, the former city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 132,208 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 617 persons per km². The total area is 214.13 km².
The city was founded on January 20, 1932.
On March 26, 2006, the city merged with the former municipalities (all from Kaho District
Kaho District, Fukuoka
is a district located in Fukuoka, Japan.As of 2006, the district has an estimated population of 14,648 and a density of 729.85 persons per km². The total area is 20.07 km².-Mergers:...
) and the new Iizuka was born.
People
- Former prime minister Tarō AsōTaro Asowas the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan serving from September 2008 to September 2009, and was defeated in the August 2009 election.He has served in the House of Representatives since 1979. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007, and was Secretary-General of the LDP briefly in 2007 and...
was born in Iizuka and retains a large house in the city.
External links
- Kyushu Institute of Technology Iizuka campus in English
- Iizuka official website of Iizuka city in Japanese