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 ...

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

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 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 usi ...

of 197,977 in 87,680 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 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Suzuka is in northeastern Mie Prefecture, in northern

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are among ...

, bordered by

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: ...

to the east. Parts of the city are within the borders of the

Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park on the coast of Mie Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1953, the park spans the municipalities of Suzuka and Tsu. See also * National Parks of Japan * Ise-Shima National Park is a national park in Mie Prefec ...

and the Suzuka Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture *

Yokkaichi is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokkaichi is located in north-ce ...

* Tsu * Kameyama Shiga Prefecture * Kōka

Climate

Suzuka 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 Suzuka is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1737 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Suzuka has increased slowly over the past 50 years.

History

Suzuka, as a place name, is mentioned in the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

chronicle '' Nihon Shoki''. The ancient Tōkaidō passed through Suzuka, and the Nara-period provincial capital was within its borders. During the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the area was controlled by Oda Nobutaka, the third son of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, who ruled from Kanbe Castle. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, much of the area was under the control of the 15,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

Kanbe Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province in what is part of now modern-day Suzuka, Mie. It was centered around Kanbe Castle. Kanbe Domain was controlled by ''fudai daimyō'' clans through ...

, ruled by the Honda clan from 1732 until 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 ...

in 1871. During this period, two post stations were within the modern city limits:

Ishiyakushi-juku was the forty-fourth of the fifty-three stations (''shukuba'') of the Tōkaidō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It was located in former Ise Province in what is now part of the city of Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Hist ...

and

Shōno-juku was the forty-fifth of the fifty-three stations (''shukuba'') of the Tōkaidō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It was located in former Ise Province in what is now the city of Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan. History Shōno ...

, which prospered due to pilgrimage traffic to the

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie, Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . ...

. After the start of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the area was organized as part of Suzuka District in 1889 and the town of Kanbe was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On December 1, 1942, Kanbe merged with the villages of Shirako, Inau, Iino, Kawano, Ichinomiya, Mida, Tanagaki, Wakamatsu, Ko, Shono, Takatsuse, Makita, and Ishiyakushi to form the city of Suzuka. The city further expanded in 1954 by annexing the villages of Sakae, Amana and Aikawa and portions of neighboring Kameyama.

Government

Suzuka 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 ...

city council of 32 members. Suzuka contributes four members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 2nd 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

Suzuka boasts a significant industrial market, having major factories for

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

in its bounds. These companies outsource part of their labor to South American nationals to secure a contract-based workforce. Although the Japanese government encourages mandatory English-language education across the nation, in Suzuka many courses are offered by private cram schools (''

juku ''Gakushū juku'' ( ja, 学習塾; see cram school) are private, fee-paying schools that offer supplementary classes often in preparation for key school and university entrance exams. The term is primarily used to characterize such schools i ...

'') and by publicly funded institutions supporting Portuguese and Spanish. In a controversial move, the city's governing body, from April 2004, requires all garbage information and local signage to be in Japanese and Portuguese (but not English).

Education

Colleges and universities

Suzuka International University is a private university in Suzuka, Mie, Japan, established in 1994. Suzuka Junior College is a private Junior College in the city of Suzuka, Mie, Japan. It was established in 1966 as women's college. It became coeducation Mixed-sex ed ...

* Suzuka University of Medical Science *

Suzuka Junior College is a private Junior College in the city of Suzuka, Mie, Japan. It was established in 1966 as women's college. It became coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co ...

* Suzuka National College of Technology

Primary and secondary education

Suzuka has 30 public elementary schools and ten public middle school operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Mie Prefectural Department of Education. There are also one private middle school and one private high school, and the prefecture also operates one special education school for the disabled.

International schools

*International schools:

Escola Alegria de Saber is a network of Brazilian international schools in Japan. It has campuses in Aichi, Gunma, Mie, and Shizuoka prefectures. The campuses, which have about 2,000 students as of 2015,エスコーラ・アレグリア・デ・サベール) - Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. Formerly Suzuka had another Brazilian school: Escola Sol Nascente.Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. February 7, 2008. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.

Transport

Railway

JR Tōkai – Kansai Main Line * - Ise Railway – Ise Line * – – – – 20px

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

- Nagoya Line * - - - - - - 20px

Suzuka Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ise-Wakamatsu Station (Suzuka, Mie) and Hiratachō Station (Suzuka, Mie Prefecture) in Japan. The line connects with the Nagoya Line at Ise-Wakamatsu ...

* - - - -

Highway

* 24px, link=, alt=E23 Higashi-Meihan Expressway * 24px, link=, alt=E1A Shin-Meishin Expressway * * * *

Local attractions

* Ise Kokubun-ji ruins, National Historic Site * Ise Kokufu ruins, National Historic Site * Ōzuka Kofun, National Historic Site

Sports

Honda Heat Mie Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies.) They play in the Japan Rugby League One, ...

rugby club *

F.C. Suzuka Rampole is a Japanese professional football club based in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was originally established in Nabari, Mie in 1980 under the name Mie Club, and it became a member of Mie Foo ...

football club

Motor racing circuit

Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Introduction Soic ...

is a Honda-owned racetrack. It has been the home of the Japanese Grand Prix from 1987, except in 2007, 2008, 2020 and 2021. It is the only figure-eight circuit in the championship, and is very popular with the drivers, in spite of its numerous difficult bends. Located next to the circuit is the Honda Safety Riding/Driving School, where thousands of car and motorcycle drivers have been trained, including many police officers and instructors throughout the world.

Sister city relations

* –

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, since May 27, 1990 * –

Bellefontaine, Ohio Bellefontaine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, Logan County, Ohio, United States, located 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 13,370 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Cens ...

, USA, since August 7, 1991

Notable people

* Saitō Ryokuu, Meiji period author * Nobutsuna Sasaki, author, poet * Keisuke Tanimoto, professional baseball player *

Takafumi Ogura is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. Club career Ogura was born in Suzuka on July 6, 1973. After graduating from high school, he joined Nagoya Grampus Eight in 1992. In 1993, he moved to Eers ...

, professional soccer player * Eisuke Nakanishi, professional soccer player * Miwa Asao, beach volleyball player * Sumie Sakai, professional wrestler

References

External links

* {{Authority control Brazilian communities Cities in Mie Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Suzuka, Mie