270px, Aerial photograph of central Kōnan is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in Kōchi Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 33,076 in 15350 households and a population density of 49 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kōnan is located in southeastern Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It faces Tosa Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Neighbouring municipalities

Kōchi Prefecture * Aki * Nankoku * Kami * Geisei

Climate

Kōnan has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kōnan is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2190 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in Kitagawa, at around 25.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Kōnan population statistics
/ref> the population of Kōnan has been increasing since the 1960s.

History

As with all of Kōchi Prefecture, the area of Kōnan was part of ancient Tosa Province. During the Edo period, the area was part of the holdings of Tosa Domain ruled by the

Yamauchi clan The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the Tosa Province which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island. The province was given to the family in 1600 after Yamauchi Kazutoyo led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu a ...

from their seat at

Kōchi Castle is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former ...

. The area was organized into villages within Kami District with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Akaoka was raised to town status on February 15, 1899, followed by Noichi on February 1, 1926,

Yasu Yasu may refer to the following: *The name for Jesus in some languages including Arabic and Swahili (the language spoken around East and Central African Countries) as spoken by Ahmadis and Christians (Yasū' or Yesu (يَسُوعَ)) and Malayalam ...

on January 1, 1943 and Kagami on April1, 1955. The city of Kōnan was created by the merger of these four towns and the village of

Yoshikawa is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 73,262 in 31,031 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in far southeastern Saita ...

on March 1, 2006. On the same day, the remaining municipalities of Kami District merged to form the city of Kami, and the district was abolished as a result.

Government

Kōnan has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Kōnan contributes two members to the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Kōchi 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Kōnan economy is centered on agriculture.

Education

Kōnan has seven public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Kōchi Prefectural Board of Education.