260px, Fuchū City Hall is a

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 ...

located in the western portion of the

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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 ...

. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a

commuter town 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 ...

for workers in central Tokyo. The city hosts large scale manufacturing facilities for

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

and

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

, as well as the

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

's main computer operations center. Local sporting attractions include the Tokyo Racecourse and the training grounds of

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

rugby teams Toshiba Brave Lupus and Suntory Sungoliath. , the city had 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 260,508, 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 8,900 persons per square kilometer. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Fuchū is located about 20 km west of the centre of Tokyo. Using the Keiō Line from

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

, it is 25 minutes to Fuchū Station (main station). It spreads across the Musashino Terrace on the left bank of the

Tama River The is a major river in Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Government of Japan, Japanese government. It is long, an ...

, facing the Tama hills on the opposite shore. The Tama River flows through the southernmost end of the city from west to east. The Kokubunji cliff runs west to east along the north; the Fuchū cliff runs west to east through the center of the city. The former has a height of 10 to 15 m, and the latter, 10 to 20 m. Sengenyama with an altitude of 79 m is in the northeast part, and the height from the foot is about 30 m. The region is mostly flatland. To the south of the Fuchū cliff is the Tama River lowlands while to the north of the Kokubunji cliff is the Musashino side of Musashino Plateau; the region between is the Tachikawa side of the Musashino Plateau. The cliffs are called ''hake'' in the local dialect. The Nogaysa river, a tributary of the Tama River, grazes the northeast end of the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Tokyo Metropolis * Chōfu * Hino * Inagi * Koganei * Kokubunji * Kunitachi * Tama

Climate

Fuchū 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Fuchū is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Shingū was on 8 July 2024.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fuchū increased rapidly in the mid-20th century and has continued to grow at a slower pace in the decades since.

History

The government of ancient

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

was established in Fuchū by the

Taika Reform The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Jap ...

, and the city prospered as the local center of politics, economy, and culture. It prospered as a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

on the Kōshū Kaidō highway in the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, and the Kita Tama District public office was placed here after the start of the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

. * 645: With the

Taika Reforms The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Japan ...

of the government of

was established in Fuchū. * 1333: The Battle of Bubaigawara was fought. * 1602: The Fuchū post-town was established with the upgrading of the Kōshū-dochu road ( Kōshū Highway). * 1868: Nirayama Prefecture was established, and the southwest part of the city region becomes part of it. The remainder was under the jurisdiction of the Musashi prefectural governor. * 1869: Shinagawa Prefecture was established, and except for the southwest part, the city becomes part of the prefecture. * 1871: Establishment of the prefectural system. Parts of the city were transferred to

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

by the next year step by step. * 1878: Tama

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Kanagawa Prefecture was divided into three districts: North Tama, South Tama, West Tama, and one district in Tokyo Prefecture: East Tama. The city region became part of North Tama District, whose district offices were established in the city. * 1880: Four towns and one village of the central area of the city region merged into Fuchū-eki. * 1889: Eight villages of the eastern area of city region merged into Tama Village, and three villages of the western area merged into Nishifu Village. Fuchū-eki reorganized as a town, without changing its name. * 1893: Three Tama districts were admitted to Tokyo Prefecture. Fuchū-eki changed its name to Fuchū Town. * 1910: The Tokyo Gravel Railroad (later JNR Shimogawara Line) is opened for traffic. * 1913: Telephone service commenced. * 1916: Keiō Electric Tram (part of present Keiō Line) opened for traffic. * 1922: Tama Railroad (present Seibu Tamagawa Line) is opened for traffic. * 1925: Gyokunan Electric Railroad (part of the present Keiō Line) opened for traffic. * 1929: Nanbu Railroad (present

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

Nambu Line The Nambu Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Tachikawa Station in Tachikawa, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. For most of its length, it parallels the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo and Kanagawa prefec ...

) opened for traffic. * 1943: Tokyo Prefecture merged with

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...

, forming

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

-to. * 1954 April 1: Fuchū Town, Tama Village, Nishifu Village merged into Fuchū City, with the structure of a

. * 1956: New Kōshū Highway is opened for traffic between Higashi Fuchū and Honshūku. * 1961: New Kōshū Highway is opened for traffic between Higashi Fuchū and Chōfu. * 1968: The 300 million yen robbery occurred in Harumicho. This was the biggest robbery in the history of the nation. * 1973: The

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a unclosed loop around central Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tok ...

opened for traffic. The Shimogawara Line closed.

Government

Fuchū 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 30 members. Fuchū contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokyo 18th district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Education

Colleges and universities

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology The commonly known as TUAT is a national university headquartered in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. The university consists of two faculties that provide courses in agriculture and engineering. History The predecessor of the university was founded i ...

* National Police Academy * Metropolitan Police Academy

Primary and secondary education

Fuchū has five public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education, * * * * * Tokyo Metropolis also operates three special education schools for the handicapped. The city has 22 public elementary schools and 11 public junior high schools operated by the city government. Public junior high schools: * Fuchu No. 1 ( 府中第一中学校) * Fuchu No. 2 ( 府中第二中学校) * Fuchu No. 3 ( 府中第三中学校) * Fuchu No. 4 ( 府中第四中学校) * Fuchu No. 5 ( 府中第五中学校) * Fuchu No. 6 ( 府中第六中学校) * Fuchu No. 7 ( 府中第七中学校) * Fuchu No. 8 ( 府中第八中学校) * Fuchu No. 9 ( 府中第九中学校) * Fuchu No. 10 ( 府中第十中学校) * Sengen ( 浅間中学校) Public elementary schools: * Fuchu No. 1 ( 府中第一小学校) * Fuchu No. 2 ( 府中第二小学校) * Fuchu No. 3 ( 府中第三小学校) * Fuchu No. 4 ( 府中第四小学校) * Fuchu No. 5 ( 府中第五小学校) * Fuchu No. 6 ( 府中第六小学校) * Fuchu No. 7 ( 府中第七小学校) * Fuchu No. 8 ( 府中第八小学校) * Fuchu No. 9 ( 府中第九小学校) * Fuchu No. 10 ( 府中第十小学校) * Honshuku (本宿小学校) * Koyanagi (小柳小学校) * Minamicho (南町小学校) * Minami Shiraitodai ( 南白糸台小学校) * Musashidai (武蔵台小学校) * Nisshin (日新小学校) * Shimmachi (新町小学校) * Shiraitodai (白糸台小学校) * Sumiyoshi (住吉小学校) * Wakamatsu (若松小学校) * Yazaki (矢崎小学校) * Yotsuya (四谷小学校) There is one municipal kindergarten: Midori Kindergarten (みどり幼稚園). There is also one private combined middle/high school and two private elementary schools. * (private)

Transportation

Railway

40px 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the H ...

Keio Corporation is a private railway operator in Tokyo, Japan and the central firm of the that is involved in transport, retailer, retail, real estate and other industries. The Keio railway network connects western suburbs of Tokyo (Chōfu, Tokyo, Chōfu, Fuc ...

- Keiō Line * - - - - -

- Keiō Keibajō Line * -

–

* - -

–

* -

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbrevi ...

- Seibu Tamagawa Line * - - -

Bus routes

Most bus routes in the city start at Fuchū Station. Other routes start at Tama-Reien Station, Higashi-Fuchū Station, Bubaigawara Station, Nakagawara Station, Tama Station, Koremasa Station, or Seisekisakuragaoka Station.

Highways

Toll roads

* Chūō Expressway **Inagi Interchange (3.1; limited interchange) **Kunitachi Fuchū Interchange (4) **Fuchu Smart On/offrmap (under construction) **:Chōfu Interchange (3) is not located in Fuchū city area, but serves the eastern half of city.

National highways

* (Kōshū Highway); Chūō Expressway and Route 20 are parallel to Keiō Line Railway, and run east to west, connecting Fuchū and central Tokyo.

Prefectural roads

* Tokyo Prefectural Route 9 Kawasaki Fuchu line Fuchū highway (also called the Kawasaki highway), Koremasa Bridge * Tokyo Prefectural Route 14 Shinjuku Kunitachi line Tohachi Road * Tokyo Prefectural Route 15 Fuchu; Kiyose line Koganei Highway * Tokyo Prefectural Route 17 Tokorozawa Fuchu line Fuchū Highway * Tokyo Prefectural Route 18 Fuchu Machida line Kamakura Highway, Sekido Bridge * Tokyo Prefectural Route 20 Fuchu Sagamihara Line Fuchū Yotsuya Bridge (Yaen Highway) * Tokyo Prefectural Route 110 Fuchu Mitaka line Hitomi Highway, Shin-Koganei Highway * Tokyo Prefectural Route 133 Ogawa Fuchu line Kokubunji Highway * Tokyo Prefectural Route 229 Fuchu Chōfu line Old Kōshū Highway * Tokyo Prefectural Route 245 Tachikawa Kokubunji Line Takikubo Dori * Tokyo Prefectural Route 247 Fuchu Koganei line (the section in Fuchū is unopened for traffic) * Tokyo Prefectural Route 248 Fuchu Kodaira line Shin-Koganei Highway

Local attractions

* Kyodo no mori open-air museum and park * Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) races. *

Ōkunitama Shrine is a shrine located in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. Six shrines in Musashi province were consolidated and their gods enshrined there. Ōkunitama is now known as one of the five major shrines in Tokyo, the others being the Tokyo Great Shrine, Yasuku ...

* Fuchū Air Base of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

* Fuchu Prison, one of Japan's largest prisons

Sports

* Suntory Sungoliath - a rugby team based in Fuchū * Toshiba Brave Lupus - a rugby team based in Fuchū * Fuchu Athletic F.C. - a

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

club based in Fuchū *Fuchū was part of the route used for the athletic 50 kilometer walk and marathon events at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

.1964 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. Part 1. pp. 74-5

Notable people

* Shinnosuke Furumoto, voice actor * Wakatoba Hiromi, sumo wrestler * Kazunari Hosaka, professional soccer player *

Jun Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was first a director of television commercials before adding filmmaking to his creative activities. His most famous film outside Japan is '' Tony Takitani'', an adaptation of a short story by Har ...

, director * Rei Igarashi, voice actress * Anna Inotsume, racing driver * Kuroda Kan'ichi, Marxist politician * Tomomi Kasai, idol singer *

Eri Kitamura is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She was previously affiliated with Early Wing, but is now a freelancer. She is known for voicing prominent roles in anime and games such as Sayaka Miki in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Saya Otonashi in ...

, voice actress * Osamu Kobayashi, anime director *

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of t ...

, musician *

Seiji Mizushima is a Japanese anime director who is known for such series as ''Shaman King'', ''Fullmetal Alchemist (TV series), Fullmetal Alchemist'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00'', ''Un-Go'', ''Concrete Revolutio'', and ''Beatless''. His first directorial film pr ...

, anime director * Homare Sawa, professional women's soccer player * Taro Sekiguchi, motorcycle racer * Kunihiko Takizawa, professional soccer player *

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese manga artist and musician. He has been drawing manga since he was four years old, and for most of his professional career has created two series simultaneously. The stories to many of these were co-written in collaboration with hi ...

, manga artistCreator
" '' Naoki Urasawa's Monster''. * Kaidō Yasuhiro, sumo wrestler

Sister cities

* Sakuho, Nagano, Japan * Hernals,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

References

External links

Fuchū City Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchu, Tokyo Venues of the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic athletics venues Cities in Tokyo Western Tokyo 1954 establishments in Japan