270px, Iwade 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

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to ...

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 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 54,138 in 23906 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 1400 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Iwade is located on the northern border of Wakayama Prefecture with Osaka Prefecture. The Kinokawa River flows along the southern border of Iwade.

Neighboring municipalities

Osaka Prefecture * Hannan * Sennan Wakayama Prefecture * Kinokawa *

Wakayama (city) file:Wakayama city hall03nt3200.jpg, Wakayama City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 households and a population density of ...

Climate

Iwade 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 Iwade is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1713 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Iwade population statistics
/ref> the population of Iwade has increased rapidly over the past 60 years.

History

The area of the modern city of Iwade was within ancient

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

. Negoroji temple was founded in the 12th century. After 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the area became part of

Naga District, Wakayama was a district located in Wakayama, 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 ...

, and the village of Iwade was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Iwade was promoted to town status on August 1, 1908. On September 30, 1956 Yade annexed the neighboring villages of Yamazaki, Negoro and Kamiiwade. The five towns in Naga District other than Iwade merged on November 7, 2005 to become the city of Kinokawa. However, as the town had a population of more than 50,000 people as of the 2005 census Iwade fulfilled the requirements to gain city status by both the ordinance of Wakayama Prefecture and Local Government Law. At the request of residents, Iwade decided to gain city status alone, which was attained on April 1, 2006

Government

Iwade 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 14 members. Iwade contributes two members to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Wakayama 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

Iwade has a mixed economy of light manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture. Due to its proximity to the city of Wakayama, it is increasingly becoming a

bedroom community 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 ...

Education

Iwade has six public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

– Wakayama Line * -

Highway

Keinawa Expressway *

Local attractions

* Negoroji temple * Nishi Kokubun pagoda site * Wakayama Prefecture Botanical Park

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Wakayama Prefecture Iwade, Wakayama