270px, Port of Niigata is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

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 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 a ...

of 14,025 in 4715 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 373 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Seirō is located in central Niigata Prefecture, sandwiched between the cities of Niigata and Shibata, with a small coastline on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

Surrounding municipalities

Kita-ku, Niigata is one of the eight wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 74,559 in households and a population density of 690 persons per km². The total area of the ward was . G ...

** Shibata

Climate

Seirō has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Seirō is 13.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1940 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Seirō population statistics
/ref> the population of Seirō has grown slightly over the past 50 years.

History

The area of present-day Seirō was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the area was organized as part of

Kitakanbara District, Niigata is a district located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of July 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 14,025 with a density of 373 persons per km2. The total area is 37.58 km2. Municipalities The district consists of only on ...

. The village of Seirō was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status in August 1977.

Economy

The local economy was formerly dependent on

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

, but is now dominated by industry, notably the production of precision components and food processing. The Higashi-Niigata Thermal Power Station, a large fossil-fuel

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

operated by

Tohoku Electric is an electric utility, servicing 7.6 million individual and corporate customers in six prefectures in Tōhoku region plus Niigata Prefecture. It provides electricity at 100 V, 50 Hz, though some area use 60 Hz. Tohoku Electric Power ...

, is located in Seirō. The

Port of Niigata A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

is a major employer.

Education

Seirō has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

* Seirō is not served by an passenger train routes.

Highway

* * *

References

External links

*
Official Website
Towns in Niigata Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan {{Niigata-geo-stub