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 is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is on the western (

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

) side of the Satsuma Peninsula. As of May 31, 2011, population data, the city has an estimated

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 39,012 with 18,711

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 137.71 persons per km². The total area is 283.30 km². The modern city of Minamisatsuma was established on November 7, 2005, from the merger of the old city of

Kaseda is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is on the western ( East China Sea) side of the Satsuma Peninsula. As of May 31, 2011, population data, the city has an estimated population of 39,012 with 18,711 households and a populatio ...

, with the town of Kinpō (from Hioki District), and the towns of Bonotsu, Kasasa and Ōura (all from Kawanabe District). Previous mergers (as listed in the

Kawanabe District, Kagoshima Japan > Kagoshima Prefecture > Kawanabe District was a district located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 28,788 and a total area of 247.54 km2. The day before the dissolution on Novem ...

Wikipedia article included: * July 15, 1954 - The towns of Kaseda and Bansei were merged to create the city of

. (3 towns, 3 villages) * January 1, 1925 The village of Higashikaseda was elevated to town status and renamed to become the town of Bansei. (4 towns, 4 villages) * January 1, 1924 - The village of Kaseda was elevated to town status to become the town of Kaseda.(3 towns, 5 villages) * April 1, 1889 - Due to the municipal status enforcement, the villages of Kaseda, Nishikaseda, Higashikaseda, Higashinanpo, Nishinanpo, Katsume and Kawanabe were formed in Kawanabe District. (7 villages)

Bansei Tokkō Peace Museum is a war museum in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture. Opened in 1993, the museum commemorates the 201 airmen from the who died in a ''kamikaze'' attack in the final months of the Pacific War. Hichiro Naemura, a flight instructor at the Bans ...

is located in the Kawanabe District of this city.

Geography

Climate

Minamisatsuma has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

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'') with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, and is heavier in summer, especially the months of June and July. The average annual temperature in Minamisatsuma is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 19 August 2013, and its record low is , reached on 11 February 1996.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamisatsuma in 2020 is 32,887 people. Minamisatsuma has been conducting censuses since 1920. The city's population peaked in 1945 at more than 90,000 people; the city's population has steadily declined since then. Until 2020, the city's population is still showing no signs of picking up.

List of mergers in Minamisatsuma

Kaseda

Kaseda (加世田市; -shi) was a

located in

. The city was founded on July 15, 1954. As of 2003, the city had an estimated

of 23,740 and the

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 251.56 persons per km². The total area was 94.37 km². On November 7, 2005, Bōnotsu, was merged to create Minamisatsuma and no longer exists as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Kinpō

was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in Hioki District,

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

of 8,099 and the

of 112.10 persons per km². The total area was 72.25 km². On November 7, 2005, Kinpō, was merged to create Minamisatsuma and no longer exists as an independent

Bonotsu

was a

located in Kawanabe District,

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

of 4,387 and the

of 113.62 persons per km². The total area was 38.61 km². On November 7, 2005, Bōnotsu, was merged to create Minamisatsuma and no longer exists as an independent

Kasasa

was a

located in Kawanabe District,

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

of 3,585 and the

of 89.89 persons per km². The total area was 39.88 km². On November 7, 2005, Bōnotsu, was merged to create Minamisatsuma and no longer exists as an independent

Ōura

was a

located in Kawanabe District,

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

of 2,802 and the

of 73.37 persons per km². The total area was 38.19 km². On November 7, 2005, Bōnotsu, was merged to create Minamisatsuma and no longer exists as an independent

References

External links

Minamisatsuma City official website
Cities in Kagoshima Prefecture Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima {{Kagoshima-geo-stub