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 ...

in the southern part of Awaji Island in

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

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 45,489 in 19856 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 200 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

The city of Minamiawaji occupies the southern third of Awaji Island. It is connected to

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 ...

to the south by the

Ōnaruto Bridge The is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of . Although it is one ...

, connecting Awaji and Oge islands, and is located facing the Kii Channel and the Gulf of Harima on the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

. There are no large rivers in the city, but there are many agricultural ponds. In the eastern part of the city is Mt. Yuzuruha, the highest peak in Awaji Island with an elevation of 607.9 meters. Minamiawaji also includes the small island of off the southeast coast of Awaji Island, which is only accessible by ferry.

Surrounding municipalities

Hyogo Prefecture * Sumoto

Climate

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamiawaji has been declining steadily over the past 30 years.

History

The city of Minamiawaji is situated in ancient

Awaji Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan covering Awaji Island, between Honshū and Shikoku.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Awaji''" in . Today it is part of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is sometimes called . Awaj ...

. It was ruled as part of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

during 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 ...

. 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 ...

, it became part of

Mihara District, Hyōgo was a district located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 53,638 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol ...

. The town of Yura was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system April 1, 1889. On April 29, 1955 it changed its name to Nandan. The city of Minamiawaji was established on January 11, 2005, from the merger of all four towns of the former Mihara District: Nandan, Mihara, Midori, and Seidan.

Government

Minamiawaji 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 20 members. Minamiawaji contributes one member to the

Hyogo Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Hyōgo Prefecture. The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the rema ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 9th 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 largely rural, and is based on agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. Minamiawaji's soil and climate make it ideal for growing onions. As such, Awaji onions are renowned across Japan as sweet and delicious.

Education

Minamiawaji has 14 public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There are also one private elementary school and one private middle school. Kibi International University's Faculty of Regional Creation Agriculture and the Kobe University Faculty of Maritime Sciences International Maritime Education and Research Center Awaji Marine Training Facility are located in Minamiawaji.

Transportation

Railway

Minamiawaji does not have any passenger rail service.

Highways

Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway *

Other

Jointly with Awaji and Sumoto, the city operates a low-cost

electric bike An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fa ...

rental scheme, designed to attract visitors to stay for more than one day in order to explore the island.

Local attractions

* Awaji Kokubun-ji, National Historic Site * Naruto whirlpools, which form when the changing tidal currents are forced through the

Naruto Strait is a strait between Awaji Island and Shikoku in Japan. It connects Harima Nada, the eastern part of the Inland Sea and the Kii Channel. A famous feature of the strait is the Naruto whirlpools. Ōnaruto Bridge The is a suspension bri ...

. * Mihara town in Minamiawaji is home to a

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

museum which houses numerous examples of locally crafted puppets. This art originated in the area.

Notable people from Minamiawaji

* Kiichiro Higuchi, general in the Imperial Japanese Army * Shintarō Hirase, marine biologist * Yoichirō Hirase, marine biologist *

Ōuchi Hyōei was a Japanese economist. Early life and education Ōuchi was born on August 29, 1888, in what is now Minaminawaji, Hyogo, Japan. After graduating from schools in Hyogo and Kumamoto, and earned a degree from Tokyo Imperial University. Caree ...

, economist *

Tokubei Kuroda was a Japanese scientist and academic. He is best known as a pioneering taxonomist and malacologist specializing in Japanese marine and terrestrial Mollusca. Early life Kuroda was born at Fukura (now Nandan-cho in Minamiawaji) on the island ...

, marine biologist * Kento Masaki, paralympic judo practitioner *

Kazuyuki Okitsu is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. After he graduated from the Osaka University of Arts, he was initially represented by the RME talent agency. However, since May 2007, he has been affiliated with Kekke Corporation. Filmography Anime * '' ...

, voice actor * Shohé Tanaka, physicist

References

External links

* *
Minamiawaji City official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minamiawaji, Hyogo Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Minamiawaji, Hyōgo