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 o ...

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 n ...

. , 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 usi ...

of 19,594 in 8029 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 660 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Namekawa is located in a hilly region of central Saitama Prefecture, approximately 60 kilometers from central Tokyo. The city measures 7.2 kilometers from north-to-south by 4.8 kilometers from east-to-west, and consists of a mixture of plateaus and hills, with an elevation of 30 to 130 meters above sea level. The Wada River runs near the border with Kumagaya at the northern end of the town, the Ichino River runs in the southern part of the town, and Namegawa (after which the town is named) runs almost through the center.

Surrounding municipalities

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the large ...

* Higshimatsuyama * Ranzan

Climate

Namegawa 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 Namegawa is 14.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1746 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Namegawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Namegawa has increased by roughly 150 percent over the past half century.

History

The village of Namegawa was created on November 3, 1954 by the merger of the villages of Fukuda and Miyamae in Hiki District, Saitama. It was elevated to town status on November 3, 1984. Proposals to merge Namegawa with one or more of its neighbors have been made in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008 without success.

Government

Namegawa 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 multi ...

town council of 14 members. Namegawa, together with the towns of Ranzan, Ogawa and Tokigawa, contributes one member to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Saitama 10th 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 paral ...

Economy

The economy of Namegawa is largely agricultural, although it is also 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 ...

to a significant percentage of the working population, who commute to nearby Saitama City or Tokyo.

Education

Namegawa has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred t ...

* –

Highway

Local attractions

Musashi Kyūryō National Government Park is a national government park located on the of the town of Namegawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is also known as a National forest park. In 1974, it opened as the first National Government Park. The park covers a vast area of forest and ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Saitama Prefecture Hiki District, Saitama