270px, Yoshino River at Ishii 270px, Ishii Station is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Myōzai District,

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

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 town 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 25,219 in 10820 households 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 870 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Ishii is located in northeastern Tokushima Prefecture on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

. On the north side of the town, the Yoshino River flows from east to west, and near the center of the town, the Iio River, which is a tributary of the Yoshino River, meanders. The land is almost all flat except for the mountains along the city-town border on the south side of the town.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture * Aizumi * Itano * Kamiita * Kamiyama *

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

* Yoshinogawa

Climate

Ishii 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 snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ishii is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2128 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Itano population statistics
/ref> the population of Ishii has remained relatively stable for the past 60 years.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Ishii was part of ancient Awa Province. The village of Ishii was established within Myozai District, Tokushima with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on November 1, 1907. Ishii annexed the neighboring villages of Urasho, Takahara, Aihata and Takagawara on March 31, 1955.

Government

Ishii 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 ...

town council of 14 members. Itano, together with the other municipalities of Myozai District, contributes two members to the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tokushima 1st 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

Ishii has primarily an agricultural economy; however, due to its geographic proximity to Tokushima, it is increasingly becoming 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 ...

. Nippon Ham and

Morinaga Milk Industry is a milk products and sweets company based in Tokyo, 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 e ...

are major employers.

Education

Ishii has six public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education. The Tokushima Prefectural College of Agriculture is located in Ishii.

Transportation

Railway

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

- Tokushima Line * -

Highways

* *

Local attractions

* Awa Kokubunni-ji ruins, National Historic Site * Dōgaku-ji

References

External links

* *
Ishii official website
Towns in Tokushima Prefecture Ishii, Tokushima {{Tokushima-geo-stub