Fukuyama, Hiroshima

Coordinates: 34°29′09″N 133°21′44″E / 34.48583°N 133.36222°E / 34.48583; 133.36222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Fukuyama
福山市
Core city
INES Fukuyama Tomonoura Fukuyama Castle Fukuyama Rose Festival Fukuyama city distant view
INES FukuyamaTomonoura
Fukuyama CastleFukuyama Rose Festival
Fukuyama city distant view
Flag of Fukuyama
Flag
Official seal of Fukuyama
Emblem
Map
Location of Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture
Fukuyama is located in Japan
Fukuyama
Fukuyama
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°29′09″N 133°21′44″E / 34.48583°N 133.36222°E / 34.48583; 133.36222
CountryJapan
RegionChūgoku (San'yō)
PrefectureHiroshima
Government
 • MayorNaoki Edahiro
Area
 • Total
518.14 km2 (200.05 sq mi)
Population
 (March 31, 2023)
 • Total
459,160
 • Density890/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address3-5 Higashi-Sakura-cho, Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima-ken 720-8501
ClimateCfa
WebsiteOfficial website
Symbols
FlowerRose, Chrysanthemum
MammalBat
TreeChinaberry tree, Mokusei Kusunoki
Fukuyama City Hall
City view from Fukuyama Castle
Panorama of Fukuyama

Fukuyama (福山市, Fukuyama-shi) is a

Hiroshima, it is the largest city in Hiroshima Prefecture
. The city's symbol is the rose and it holds an annual Rose Festival in the month of May. The official mascot of Fukuyama is an anthropomorphic rose child by the name of Rola.

Geography

Fukuyama City is located in southeastern Hiroshima Prefecture. The center of the city is located in the Fukuyama Plain, which has been built by

Kurashiki, Okayama
. The urban area is roughly divided into the former Fukuyama city, the eastern (Zao, Kasuga) district, the southern (Tomo, Numakuma) district, the Matsunaga (former Matsunaga City) district, and the northern (Kannabe, Ekiya, Kamo) districts. Fukuyama expanded by incorporated neighboring municipalities one after another, but because the eastern part was blocked by the prefectural border and the southern part by the sea, the city limits expanded to the north and west.

Neighboring municipalities

Hiroshima Prefecture

Okayama Prefecture

  • Ibara
  • Kasaoka

Climate

Fukuyama has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa)[2] with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Climate data for Fukuyama (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1942−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.4
(63.3) 		23.6
(74.5) 		24.7
(76.5) 		28.6
(83.5) 		32.4
(90.3) 		34.7
(94.5) 		38.2
(100.8) 		38.5
(101.3) 		36.7
(98.1) 		32.2
(90.0) 		27.1
(80.8) 		21.4
(70.5) 		38.5
(101.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6) 		10.5
(50.9) 		13.9
(57.0) 		19.2
(66.6) 		24.0
(75.2) 		27.0
(80.6) 		30.9
(87.6) 		32.8
(91.0) 		28.8
(83.8) 		23.3
(73.9) 		17.5
(63.5) 		12.1
(53.8) 		20.8
(69.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.6
(40.3) 		5.2
(41.4) 		8.5
(47.3) 		13.7
(56.7) 		18.7
(65.7) 		22.5
(72.5) 		26.6
(79.9) 		27.9
(82.2) 		24.0
(75.2) 		18.0
(64.4) 		12.0
(53.6) 		6.8
(44.2) 		15.7
(60.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.0
(32.0) 		0.4
(32.7) 		3.2
(37.8) 		8.1
(46.6) 		13.3
(55.9) 		18.5
(65.3) 		22.9
(73.2) 		23.9
(75.0) 		19.9
(67.8) 		13.3
(55.9) 		7.1
(44.8) 		2.1
(35.8) 		11.1
(51.9)
Record low °C (°F) −8.1
(17.4) 		−9.2
(15.4) 		−5.9
(21.4) 		−1.8
(28.8) 		2.8
(37.0) 		8.0
(46.4) 		13.2
(55.8) 		15.8
(60.4) 		8.0
(46.4) 		1.5
(34.7) 		−2.4
(27.7) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−9.2
(15.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 38.5
(1.52) 		47.0
(1.85) 		83.7
(3.30) 		91.6
(3.61) 		117.7
(4.63) 		174.5
(6.87) 		198.0
(7.80) 		95.2
(3.75) 		136.0
(5.35) 		91.1
(3.59) 		55.1
(2.17) 		43.3
(1.70) 		1,171.7
(46.13)
Average snowfall cm (inches) trace 3
(1.2) 		trace 0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		trace 4
(1.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 4.7 6.5 9.0 8.8 8.5 10.5 9.6 6.4 8.1 6.5 5.6 5.4 89.6
Average snowy days (≥ 1 cm) 0.2 1.0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1.5
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		69 68 67 66 68 75 76 73 73 72 73 72 71
Mean monthly sunshine hours 139.8 138.6 174.8 191.4 211.5 162.4 193.5 221.8 165.6 174.3 150.7 145.6 2,069.8
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][4]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukuyama in 2020 is 460,930 people.[5] Fukuyama has been conducting censuses since 1960.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1960 281,701—    
1965 301,376+7.0%
1970 355,264+17.9%
1975 405,677+14.2%
1980 425,675+4.9%
1985 441,502+3.7%
1990 445,403+0.9%
1995 453,791+1.9%
2000 456,908+0.7%
2005 459,087+0.5%
2010 461,471+0.5%
2015 464,811+0.7%
2020 460,930−0.8%
Fukuyama population statistics[5]

History

The Fukuyama area is part of ancient

Meiji restoration
, the town of Fukuyama was established on April 1,1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Fukuyama Town became Fukuyama City on July 1, 1916. The population of the city at that time was 32,356. In 1933, ten villages from surrounding

B-29
bombers made an air raid on Fukuyama, destroying much of the city.

On March 31, 1954, several

towns and villages in Kōrimatsu District merged to found the city of Matsunaga. Matsunaga City would eventually merge with Fukuyama City on May 1, 1966. Several towns and villages from the Fukayasu District merged into Fukuyama in 1956, and Fukayasu Town merged in 1962. On April 1, 1974, Ashida Town in Ashina District
merged with Fukuyama, followed by Kamo Town, Fukayasu District and Ekiya Town, Ashina District on February 1, 1975,.

Fukuyama was promoted to core city status on April 1, 1998 with greater local autonomy.

Several other surrounding towns and districts subsequently merged with Fukuyama:

  • February 3, 2003,
    Shin'ichi
    Town in Ashina District, thereby dissolving Ashina District
  • February 1, 2005 Numakuma Town, dissolving Numakuma District
  • March 1, 2006 Kannabe Town in Fukayasu District, dissolving the district

Government

Fukuyama has a

unicameral
city council of 38 members. Fukuyama contributes ten members to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly.

In terms of national politics, Fukuyama is part of the Hiroshima 6th district of the

Diet of Japan.[7]
Prior to 2022, the city was part of Hiroshima 7th district.

Economy

Fukuyama is a major center for heavy industry, notably steel. JFE Steel West Japan Works Fukuyama Area (former Nippon Kokan Fukuyama Works), which was completed in 1961, is not only the company's largest manufacturing base, but also the world's largest steelworks. Fukuyama is also a major manufacturing base for textiles, processed food, electronic equipment, pumps, cranes, machine inspection equipment, food trays, and rubber.

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary schools

Fukuyama has 74 public elementary schools, 34 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government. The city has 13 public high schools operated by the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education and one by the national government. There are also the private elementary schools, five private junior high schools and seven private high schools. The prefecture also operates three special education schools for the disabled.

Other

The Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama, inaugurated on June 17, 1995, is dedicated to the memory of 1.5 million children who were murdered in the

Holocaust
. It has the distinction of being the first institution in Japan devoted to Holocaust education.

Transportation

Sanyo Shinkansen

Railway

JR West – San'yō Shinkansen

JR West (JR West) - San'yō Main Line

JR West (JR West) - Akō Line

Ibara Railway Company

Highways

Sister city relations

Local attractions

Fukuyama Rose Festival
  • Fukuyama Castle
  • Fukuyama Hachimangū Shinto shrine
  • Kusado Sengen, a medieval town excavated in the Ashida River
  • Myōōin
    - Buddhist temple with two national treasures.
  • Taichōrō - temple hall on the hill behind the ferry terminal was built at the end of the 17th century to house a Korean delegation, which would at times pay its respects.
  • Tomonoura - fishing port of numerous temples and shrines; approximately 30 minutes south of Fukuyama by bus (14 km from Fukuyama).
  • Uono-sato - snack-food factory that processes most of the locally-caught fish. One can observe workers make chikuwa (ground-fish snacks) and senbei (rice crackers).

Notable people from Fukuyama, Hiroshima

References

  1. ^ "Fukuyama city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ^ "福山市水産振興ビジョン 第1章 福山市の概要" (PDF). 福山市農林水産課. Retrieved 2020-09-24.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  4. ^ 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Fukuyama population statistics
  6. ^ "Fukuyama Castle - Visit Hiroshima". Fukuyama Castle - Visit Hiroshima. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  7. ^ "公職選挙法の一部を改正する法律". Shugiin. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  8. ^ "Hamilton Ontario Sister Cities". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
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