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 Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is located west of Kirishima and north of

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. The modern city of Aira was established on March 23, 2010, from the merger of the former town of

Aira ''Aira'' is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to western and southern Europe, central and southwest Asia, plus Africa. The common name, shared with the similar related genera '' Deschampsia'' and ''Koeleria'', is hair-g ...

, absorbing the towns of Kajiki and Kamō (all from Aira District). As of October 1, 2020, the city has a

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 76,405 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 330.3 persons per km². The total area is 231.32 km². It is accessed with the Kyushu Expressway at interchange 25, the Kajiki Interchange and interchange 26, the Aira Interchange. The expressway passed through Aira, connecting Kagoshima to the west and Kirishima to the North. The interchange was first opened on December 13, 1973. There are five railway stations in the city. From east to west, Kajiki, Kinkō, Chōsa, Aira and Shigetomi stations serve the city. All of these stations belong to

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima via the east coast of Kyushu, passing through the p ...

, and are operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Aira's claim to fame is a stone gate in the village of Yamada which commemorates the victory of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The plan for the merger of the three towns was defeated twice. Once in 2005 and again in 2008. These defeats were due to a debt in public finance and the number of seats in the city council. Finally, in 2009, town representatives compromised with these problems and the merger plan was accepted. Aira District will be left with one municipality.

Geography

Surrounding municipalities

* Kagoshima Prefecture **

** Kirishima **

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

Satsumasendai is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Satsumasendai was established on October 12, 2004, from the merger of the city of Sendai, the towns of Hiwaki, Iriki, Kedōin and Tōgō, and the Koshikijima Islands (whi ...

Demography

According to Japanese census data,Aira population statistics
/ref> this is the population of Aira in recent years. ISS034-E-027139

Climate

Aira has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature is about , and the annual rainfall is about . Most of the rainfall is concentrated from June to September.

Typhoons A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

often strike from summer to autumn. In addition,

Sakurajima Sakurajima ( ja, 桜島, literally "Cherry Blossom Island") is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption connected it with the Ōsumi Peninsul ...

is located about 20 km south of the city, and

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

may fall when a northerly wind blows during volcanic activity. As with other cities, towns and villages in the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture, the forecast of wind direction over Sakurajima, which is reported in the weather forecast, is of great concern.

Notable people

* Munenori Kawasaki - professional baseball player *

Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but is currently inactive due to suffering a shoulder injury. In March 2021, he became the company's inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion by ...

- Japanese professional wrestler *

Shoji Jo is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for the Japan national team. Club career He was born on the island of Hokkaido and began his footballing career with JEF United Ichihara in 1994. He quickly esta ...

- professional football player

References

External links

Aira City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Kagoshima Prefecture