is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
located in
Iwate Prefecture,
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 ...
. , the village 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 2,607, 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 37.4 persons per km
2 in 1,126 households. The total area of the village is .
Geography
Fudai is a coastal mountainous community situated on the
Sanriku Coast ria along the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
in northern Iwate. The southern part of the village, an area called , included a part of the
Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, which is now part of the
Sanriku Fukkō National Park. It features an observation point to view scenic seaside cliffs.
Neighboring municipalities
Iwate Prefecture
*
Iwaizumi
*
Noda
*
Tanohata
Climate
Fudai has a cold
humid climate (
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'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Fudai is 10.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1201 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.1 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Fudai has declined over the past 60 years.
Fudai has been recognized by Japan's Office for the Promotion of Regional Revitalization (
Kishida Cabinet Secretariat), which promotes the development of new technologies to combat depopulation, for meeting a "high standard" of
digital transformation/
telework infrastructure. Related projects have been awarded over ¥4.8M in government grants.
''地方創生テレワーク交付金の交付対象事業一覧（新規事業)''
内閣府地方創生推進室, 2021, p. 26
History
240px, Fudai's floodgate, 4 August 2011. The village escaped destruction during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as a result of the protection afforded by the floodgate.
The area of present-day Fudai was part of ancient Mutsu Province, dominated by the Nambu clan during the Edo period, who ruled Hachinohe Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. With the Meiji period establishment of the modern municipalities system, the village of Fudai was created within Kitahei District on April 1, 1889. Kitahei, Nakahei and Higashihei Districts were all merged into Minamihei District on March 29, 1896.
In 1953, the national and prefectural governments targeted Fudai for consolidation with its southern neighbor, Tanohata following the Law for the Consolidation of Cities, Towns and Villages ( "the great Shōwa mergers").
2011 tsunami
The village was spared from the devastation brought to other coastal communities following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
thanks to a floodgate that protected the town. The floodgate was built between 1972 and 1984 at a cost of ¥3.56 billion (approximately US$30 million in 2011) under the administration of Kotaku Wamura, the village mayor from 1947 to 1987. Initially derided as a waste of public funds, the floodgate protected the village and the inner cove from the worst of the tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
waves.
Government
Fudai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 14 members. Fudai, together with the city of Miyako, town of Iwaizumi and the villages of Tanohata and Yamada, collectively contributes three seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Iwate 2nd 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 ...
.
Economy
The local economy is based on commercial fishing and agriculture.
Education
Fudai has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.
Transportation
Railway
Sanriku Railway – Rias Line
* - -
Highway
*
*
Local attractions
* Rikuchū-Kurosaki Light – one of the "50 Noteworthy Lighthouses of Japan"
References
External links
*
Official Website
{{Authority control
Villages in Iwate Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan