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

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi 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 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 a ...

of 142,835 in 65,950 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 4700 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Misato is located in the extreme southeastern corner Saitama Prefecture. The

Edogawa River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It splits from the Tone River at the northernmost tip of Noda City in the Sekiyado district, crosses through Nagareyama and Matsudo, and empties into Tokyo Bay at Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. The Edo ...

runs along the eastern border of the city, the Naka River runs along the western border, and the Oba River runs through the central part of the city. Located in the middle of the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...

, the land is generally flat, with the highest point being about 8 meters above sea level. The city is approximately 20 kilometers from downtown Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

* Yoshikawa *

Sōka is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,645 in 118,129 households and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Situated in the southeast corner of Sa ...

* Yashio

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

* Katsushika-ku

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

Nagareyama Nagareyama City Hall is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 200,136 in 84,800 households and a population density of 5,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nagareyama is ...

Matsudo 260px, Matsudo City Hall is a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 498,575 in 242,981 households and a population density of 8100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Matsudo is loca ...

Climate

Misato 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 to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Misato is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1387 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Misato population statistics
/ref> the population of Misato expanded rapidly in the late 20th century and has grown at a slower pace in the 21st.

History

The area of modern Misato was originally part of

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

, and was transferred to

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

in 1683. The villages of Hikonari, Waseda, Togasaki and Yagisato were created within

Kitakatsushika District, Saitama is a Districts of Japan, district located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. As of July 1, 2011, the district has an estimated population of 77,583 and a population density of 1,680 persons per km2. The total area is 46.22 km2. There are two tow ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Togasaki and Yagisato merged on July 1, 1933 to form the village of Towa. On September 30, 1956, Hikonari, Waseda and Towa merged to form the village of Misato, which was raised to town status on October 1, 1964. The area experienced rapid population growth in the 1960s and 1970s with the large-scale construction of

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

developments. Misato was elevated to city status on May 3, 1972.

Government

Misato has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city council of 22 members. Misato contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 14th 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

Due to this location, Misato is primarily a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

with a significant percentage of its population commuting to the Tokyo metropolis for work.

Education

Misato has 19 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government and three public high schools (Misato North High School, Misato Technical High School, Misato High School) operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education, The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is 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 ...

–

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations ...

* -

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company The is a third-sector railway operating company in Japan. It was established on 15 March 1991 to construct the 58.3 km Tsukuba Express (then known as the ''Jōban Shinsen'') commuter railway line from in Tokyo to in Ibaraki Prefecture ...

Tsukuba Express The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was inaugurated on 24 Aug ...

Highway

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

Misato Route * * *

Noted people from Misato

* Yūya Uchida, voice actress *

Mika Kikuchi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer affiliated with BLACK SHIP. Biography In 2000, Mika made her stage debut as Janet in the Japanese version of the musical Annie. She also had small roles in Suicide Circle and Battle Royale II ...

, actress *

Mayu Watanabe is a Japanese former idol, singer, actress, and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 under Team B. In the annual AKB48 General Elections event, she had consistently been voted by fans to rank among the group's top members. She has ...

, retired actress,singer,model etc * Shunketsu Yūji, sumo wrestler *

Tomoyuki Sakai is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Sakai was born in Misato on 29 June 1979. He joined JEF United Ichihara from youth team in 1997. He played many matches as defensive midfielder from first ...

, professional soccer player *

Junko Furuta was a Japanese high school student who was abducted, raped, tortured and then subsequently murdered. Her case was called the , due to her body being discovered in a concrete drum. The abuse was mainly perpetrated by four male teenagers (Hiros ...

, murder victim

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Misato, Saitama (city)