is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
located in
Fukushima Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. , the town had an official registered
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 4,755 in 2,267 households,
[Official statistics from home page](_blank)
and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 81 persons per km
2. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Hirono is located in southern of Fukushima Prefecture, bordering on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
to the east.
Climate
Hirono has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hirono is 11.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1413 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.9 °C.
Surrounding municipalities
*Fukushima Prefecture
**
Iwaki
**
Naraha
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hirono has remained relatively steady for the past 60 years.
History
The area of present-day Hirono was part of
Mutsu Province, and was included in the holdings of
Iwakitaira Domain under the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
of
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
Japan. After the
Meiji restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, on April 1, 1889, the village of Hirono was created within Naraha District, Fukushima with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Naraha District became Futaba District in 1896. Hirono was elevated to town status on August 1, 1940.
2011 earthquake and tsunami
The eastern, coastal portion of Hirono was inundated by devastating
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
flood waters following the magnitude 9.0
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
off its coastline on March 11, 2011. Following the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...
, the town was included in the emergency evacuation preparation zone, as it was just outside the 20 kilometer exclusion zone; however, the town government recommended that all residents evacuate and all civic services were shut down. Although the central government advised that it was safe to return in September 2011, the town government maintained its evacuation recommendation until April 2012. The town hall reopened on March 1, 2012 in preparation for the return of residents and the radioactive decontamination of schools; however, a ban on agriculture remained in place. Residents were initially hesitant to return, with only 1,352 of the registered 5,005 residents having returned by February 2014.
"Half-evacuated Fukushima town looks to accept No. 1 plant workers
, ''Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', 25 February 2014 However, by the end of March 2020, the Hirono city government reported that over 88 percent of the former inhabitants had returned.
Economy
The economy of Hirono is heavily dependent on agriculture. The fossil-fuel powered Hirono Thermal Power Station located directly at the Pacific Ocean about 3 km north of the town is also a major employer. Although damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Tepco
is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and ...
managed to return the power station to operation four months later.
Education
Hirono has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Fukushima Board of Education.
Transportation
Railway
*JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...
- Jōban Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi. However, following ...
**
Highway
* - Hirono Interchange
*
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Fukushima Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan