is an island

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

grouped in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

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 ...

. It is the only city of Tsushima Subprefecture and it encompasses all of Tsushima Island, which lies in the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

north of

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

on the western side of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, the southernmost mainland island of Japan. As of March 2017, the city has an estimated

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 31,550 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 45 persons per km². Its total area is 708.61 km², 17.3% of the area of Nagasaki Prefecture.

History

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Izuhara, Sasuna, and Shishimi as open ports for trading with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On April 1, 1975, Toyotama Village was promoted to the status of a town. Mine Village was also elevated to the status of a town in the following year. The modern city of Tsushima was established on March 1, 2004, from the merger of six towns on Tsushima Island: Izuhara, Mitsushima, and Toyotama (all from Shimoagata District), and Mine, Kamiagata, and Kamitsushima (all from Kamiagata District). Both districts were dissolved as a result of this merger.

Geography

The city of Tsushima is located on Tsushima Island and other small neighbouring islands, lying slightly to the west side of

, south of 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 ...

and north-east of the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. The island also lies between the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

and the Japanese mainland. Its coastline has a total length of 915 km.

Asō Bay is a large, complex inlet that nearly cleaves the Japanese island of Tsushima in two. The bay is notable for its ria coastline, with many peninsulas and with many peninsulas and numerous small islands located close to the shore. It is part of ...

, a prominent bay with a

ria A ria (; , feminine noun derived from ''río'', river) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendriti ...

s coastline, is located between the islands. Tsushima lies about 60 km from

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut, in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute, originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japane ...

, 138 km from the city of

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, and 49.5 km from

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Islands

Several other islands encompass Tsushima city, in addition to

Kamino-shima is the double-mountained northern end of Tsushima Island, which lies in the Korea Strait between the East China Sea to the south and the Sea of Japan to the north, and Korea to the west and mainland Japan to the east. The famous naval Battle of ...

and

Shimono-shima is the southern end of Tsushima Island, which lies in the Korea Strait between the East China Sea to the south and the Sea of Japan to the north, and Korea to the west and mainland Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located ...

, both of which makes up the Tsushima Island(s): * Santsu-jima (三ッ島) * Shimayama-jima (島山島) * Uni Island

Flora and fauna

Tsushima cat

Native to the island is the Tsushima cat (or Tsushima leopard cat, an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

, ''Prionailurus bengalensis''). Present on the islands since ancient times, its numbers have decreased sharply, and it is now listed as a

critically endangered species An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of the ...

on the

Japanese Red List The Japanese is the Japanese domestic counterpart to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The national Red List is compiled and maintained by the Ministry of the Environment, alongside a separate Red List for marine organisms. Similarly draw ...

. , it was estimated that only 80 to 100 animals remain.

Climate

Tsushima has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much heavier in summer than in winter.

Demographics and culture

The population of Tsushima Island has been decreasing significantly. Between the years of 1995 and 2000, the decline was 5.2%.Info on Tsushima Shi
/ref> As nuclear families replace the traditional extended families, the average household is smaller, as is the total population. The elderly comprise nearly a quarter of the population here, compared to 20.8% of the Nagasaki Prefecture as a whole, and 17.3% of the population of Japan. Religious traditions on Tsushima Island mirror those of the rest of Japan, with a majority of the population adhering to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

Economy

Many Tsushima residents are employed as fishermen. It is also known for its

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

culture. The natural environment of the Tsushima Islands also contributes to the local tourism industry. Beaches are crowded with tourists in the summer.

Transportation

Airport

Tsushima Airport is an airport located northeastAIS Japan

(TSJ) is approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of the city, with daily services to Fukuoka and Nagasaki serviced by ANA and

Oriental Air Bridge is a Japanese regional airline headquartered on the grounds of Nagasaki Airport in Ōmura, Nagasaki, Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It operates regional services to the islands within Nagasaki Prefecture and also operates domestic services ...

Seaport

Tsushima has two sea ports, Izuhara and Hitakatsu. Ferries cross to the port of

Hakata is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

a few times per day. Ferries also travel a few times a week to Busan in South Korea on the northern port of the island.

Road

* Japan National Route 382

Broadcasting

Tsushima has received 12 digital TV channels from

and mainland

prefectures : NHK-G 11,

NHK-E , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, documentaries, cultural, children's or intellectual n ...

21, NBC 31 ( JNN), NIB 41 ( NNN /

NNS NNS can stand for: * New neoclassical synthesis (economics) * NASCAR Nationwide Series (previous name of the NASCAR Xfinity Series) * Nashville Number System (music) * National Numeracy Strategy (UK education) * Near Net Shape * Nearest neighbor se ...

), NCC 51 (

ANN Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

), KBC 11 (

), TVQ 71 (

TX Network TXN Network (TXN) is a commercial television network in Japan owned by TV Tokyo Corporation, a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Holdings, which itself is majority controlled by Nikkei, Inc. The "TX" is taken from the callsign of its flagship station ...

), KTN 81 ( FNN/ FNS), Rkb+ 41 ( JNN), FBS 51 ( NNN/

), CATV 111, and TNC 81 ( FNN/ FNS); along with its radio frequencies. In addition, the island could receive South Korean TV channels ( KBS, MBC and SBS-affiliated KNN) and radio frequencies, due to its location nearby to the port city of

Sister cities

, South Korea *

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, United States

Notes

External links

Tsushima City English Webpage

Japanese

Map of Tsushima

Tsushima's Statistics

Tsushima Airport

Tsushima Tourist and Product Society

Korean

Tsushima Tourist and Product Society
{{Authority control Cities in Nagasaki Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Tsushima Island Tsushima, Nagasaki