
was a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares ...
located in
Kamitsuga District,
Tochigi,
Japan.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...
of 3,465 and a
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematicall ...
of 18.65 persons per km². The total area was 185.79 km².
On March 20, 2006, Ashio, along with the city of
Imaichi, the town of
Fujihara, and the village of
Kuriyama (both from
Shioya District), was merged into the expanded city of
Nikkō
is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...
.
The
Ashio Copper Mine
The was a copper mine located in the town of Ashio, Tochigi (now part of the city of Nikkō, Tochigi), in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It was the site of Japan's first major pollution disaster in the 1880s and the scene of the 1907 ...
was located in Ashio. This
copper mine
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...
caused a major
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
problem in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Subsequent environmental problems related to the mine are still evident along the river, in
Tochigi,
Gunma
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushim ...
and
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefectur ...
s. In 1907 the Ashio miners rioted. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
a
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
camp was based here to supply slave labour to the copper mines.
The following communities agreed to seek the permission of the governor of the prefecture to merge on March 1, 2006:
*
Nikkō
is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...
*
Imaichi
* Ashio
*
Fujihara
*
Kuriyama
References
* Nimura Kazuo. (1997) ''The Ashio Riot of 1907: A Social History of Mining in Japan''(''Ashio bōdō no shiteki bunseki'' translated by Terry Boardman and Andrew Gordon). Durham, N.C.:
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...
. (paper)
External links
Nikkō official website
*
Dissolved municipalities of Tochigi Prefecture
Nikkō, Tochigi
{{Tochigi-geo-stub