Yokosuka
Yokosuka
横須賀市 | |
---|---|
Yokosuka in Japan | |
Coordinates: 35°16′53.4″N 139°40′19.5″E / 35.281500°N 139.672083°E | |
Country | Japan |
Region | Kantō |
Prefecture | Kanagawa |
Government | |
• Mayor | Katsuaki Kamiji |
Area | |
• Total | 100.81 km2 (38.92 sq mi) |
Population (February 1, 2024) | |
• Total | 373,797 |
• Density | 3,708/km2 (9,600/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 |
Postal code | 238-8550 |
Area code | 14201-8 |
Website | Official website |
Yokosuka (横須賀市, Yokosuka-shi) is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
As of February 2024[update], the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of 3,708 inhabitants per square kilometre (9,600/sq mi).[1] The total area is 100.7 km2 (38.9 sq mi). Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is host to United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka.
Geography
Yokosuka | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | 横須賀 | ||||
Hiragana | よこすか | ||||
Katakana | ヨコスカ | ||||
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Yokosuka occupies most of Miura Peninsula, and is bordered by the mouth of Tokyo Bay to the east and Sagami Bay on the Pacific Ocean on the west.
Surrounding municipalities
History
Pre-modern period
The area around present-day Yokosuka City has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools and
The adventurer
During the
During the turbulent
Meiji period to present
This section needs to be updated.(February 2024) |
After the
The
During
From the 1950s, United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka has been home port for the United States Seventh Fleet, and played a critical support role in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.[3] Yokosuka was the site of many anti-war protests during the late 1960s and 1970s. The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, formerly based at Yokosuka, was the first U.S. nuclear-powered ship that had been permanently based in Japan. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force also operates a military port next to the American base, as well as numerous training facilities at scattered locations around the city. For those reasons, there are a few hundred Americans and a thousand Filipinos in Yokosuka.[4]
In 2001, Yokosuka was designated as a core city, with increased autonomy from the central government.[citation needed]
Economy
Aside from the economic impact of its various military facilities, Yokosuka is also an industrial city, with factories operated by
The Yokosuka Research Park, established in 1997, is a major center for the Japanese telecommunications industry, and is where many of the wireless, mobile communications related companies have set up their research and development centers and joint testing facilities.[citation needed]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[7][8] Yokosuka's population peaked around the year 1990 and has declined since then. Foreign citizens in Yokosuka are mainly Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese, and Americans.[9]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1920 | 96,351 | — |
1930 | 110,301 | +14.5% |
1940 | 237,523 | +115.3% |
1950 | 250,533 | +5.5% |
1960 | 287,309 | +14.7% |
1970 | 347,576 | +21.0% |
1980 | 421,107 | +21.2% |
1990 | 433,358 | +2.9% |
2000 | 428,645 | −1.1% |
2010 | 418,325 | −2.4% |
2020 | 388,078 | −7.2% |
Transportation
Rail
- JR East – Yokosuka Line
- Keikyu Main Line
- Mabori-Kaigan – Uraga
- Keikyu Kurihama Line
Road
Education
Yokosuka's public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the
The city operates one municipal high school, Yokosuka Sogo High School.
Energy disasters
On 26 October 2011 Yokosuka held its annual nuclear accident evacuation drill. This drill was first held in 2008 when the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington was employed at the US naval base near this city. About 70 people, residents and firefighters took part in the drill. Firefighters ordered the residents of the city to stay indoors, assuming abnormally high levels of radiation around the US base. Radioactive contamination was controlled in the emergency response center by city officials. The US Navy refused to take part this, because of the supposed impossibility of radiation leaking outside the base. [citation needed] In December 2011, another drill was scheduled with Yokosuka and other cities to prepare for the possibility that people on board the ship might be exposed to radiation.[12]
One unintended consequence of anti-nuclear sentiment is the construction of coal fired power plants, which causes
Sister city relations
Yokosuka has twin-town relationships with four other cities.[14] They are (in chronological order):
- Corpus Christi, Texas, United States (since 18 October 1962)
- Brest, France (since 26 November 1970)
- Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (since 25 April 1979)
- Medway, Kent, UK (since 26 August 1998)
- Mazyr, Belarus (since 2008)
- Bharatpur, Nepal , (since 15 March 2023)
Yokosuka has a friendship-city relationship with one city:[14]
- Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan (since 17 April 2005)
Local attractions
Sarushima is an uninhabited island in the Tokyo Bay, accessible by ferry from Yokosuka.[15]
The
The Club Alliance enlisted club, which lies just inside the main gate of Yokosuka Naval Base, opened in 1983. It replaced the old Club Alliance which was demolished to make way for the
The Yokosuka Arts Theatre, part of the Bay Square complex by Kenzō Tange, is a venue for opera, orchestral concerts, chamber music, and films.[17]
Dobuita Street is situated in Yokosuka, close to the U.S. naval base. Therefore, this High Street has a very American influence, with many shops accepting U.S dollars. In the evening the street turns into the local bar and club district for the area.[citation needed]
A museum in memory of rock musician Hide, a native of Yokosuka, opened on July 20, 2000.[18] It has been reported that Japan's former prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, was influential in getting it built as he was a big fan of Hide's band X Japan.[19] The museum stayed open, past its original three-year plan, for five years, before closing on 25 September 2005.[18]
Yokosuka is considered a place of origin of sukajan jackets. These embroidered satin bombers are a popular souvenir from the city, especially the more expensive, handmade ones.[20]
In popular culture
Yokosuka, including Dobuita Street, is the setting for the 1999 video game
Yokosuka is a major location in the Arpeggio of Blue Steel franchise, where it serves as one of Japan's few remaining naval facilities, the only one equipped with a functional shipyard and maritime academy. Due to rising sea levels, the port is built above the ruins of the submerged original city's remains. All the main cast lived and attended school there before forming the privateer fleet Blue Steel that uses it as their home port.[citation needed]
Notable people from Yokosuka
Politicians
- Junichiro Koizumi, former Prime Minister of Japan
- Yoriko Madoka, politician
- Yūto Yoshida, politician
Culture and the arts
- Hitoshi Ashinano, manga artist
- Kazumasa Hirai, author
- Miyako Ishiuchi, photographer
- Kazuo Kamimura, manga artist
- Kōji Kumeta, manga artist
- Kazutaka Miyatake, anime designer
- Minoru Nojima, pianist
- David Jay Reed, artist, actor, photographer, graphic designer, lecturer
Entertainment
- Donnalyn Bartolome, singer-actress
- hide, musician
- Honoka Inoue, voice actress
- Kikuko Inoue, voice actress
- Rika Ishikawa, singer
- Ichiro Ito, musician
- Happiness and E-girls
- Yusuke Kamiji, actor
- Josh Kelly, actor
- Kie Kitano, gravure idol
- Kotaro Koizumi, actor
- Yōsuke Kubozuka, actor
- MAA, singer
- MadeinTYO, rapper
- Eri Shingyōji, singer
- Exile The Second
- Exile The Second
Athletes
- Rich Alvarez, professional basketball player
- Isao Inokuma, Olympic gold medalist judoka
- Naohiro Ishikawa, professional soccer player
- Junya Ito, football player
- Naoyuki Kotani, professional mixed martial artist
- Keith McDonald, baseball player
- Stan McQuay, IFBB professional bodybuilder
- Mark Muñoz, mixed martial artist
- Rei Nishiyama, Olympic gold medalist softball player
- Tetsuya Ōkubo, professional soccer player
- Hiroyuki Taniguchi, professional soccer player
- Shuhei Terada, professional soccer player
- Cameron Thomas, professional basketball player
- Marcus Thomas, professional football player
- Caol Uno, professional mixed martial artist
- Susumu Yokosuka, professional wrestler
Others
- Susumu Ishii, yakuza godfather
- Thomas Noguchi, doctor
- Tsutsumi Sakamoto, lawyer
- Ayumu Sasaki, motorcycle racer
See also
References
- ^ "Basic Resident Register registration population". Yokosuka City. Retrieved 2018-02-21.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Yokosuka cave network dug by Japanese during World War II sealed". Stripes.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "history.html". Navy.mil. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Demographics of Yokosuka". April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ 日産自動車株式会社. 日産追浜工場|ようこそ、日産の工場へ. Nissan-Global.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Japanese curry loved by all generations". Stripes Japan. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ Yokosuka population statistics (in Japanese)
- ^ Yokosuka population statistics (1995-2020)
- ^ 横須賀市 人口統計. Archived from the original on 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
- ^ "横須賀市教育委員会". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2005.
- ^ [1] Archived December 16, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NHK-world (26 October 2011)Yokosuka conducts nuclear accident drill Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- ^ a b 横須賀市行政サービス情報 – 「姉妹都市、友好都市」 (企画調整部 国際交流課) [Yokosuka Administrative Service Information– Sister Cities, Friendship Cities]. Yokosuka City. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ Ryall, Julian (28 April 2010). "arushima: Welcome to Monkey Island". CNN Travel. Cable News Network. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "Japan's 114-year-old battleship Mikasa: A relic of another time". CNET.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Yokosuka Arts Theatre". Yokosuka Arts Theatre. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Special Features: Hide Museum". musicjapanplus.jp. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ^ "Crystal Skulls: 'hatsumode' for the groove generation; Yokosuka joins the party". The Japan Times. 2003-02-01. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ "Yokosuka – Birthplace of One of a Kind "Japan Jackets" JAPAN Monthly Web Magazine". Archived from the original on 2021-05-30. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ BATDORFF, ALLISON (21 April 2006). "Yokosuka street hosts players of video game". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ "Yokosuka City - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
External links
- Official Website (in Japanese)
- Geographic data related to Yokosuka at OpenStreetMap