Mizumaki, Fukuoka
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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 Onga District,
Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
,
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 27,571 in 13687 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 2500 persons per km². The total area of the town is .


Geography

Mizumaki is located in north-central Fukuoka Prefecture, bordered by Kitakyūshū City on the east and the Onga River on the west.


Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture * Ashiya *
Kitakyūshū is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
* Nakama * Onga


Climate

Mizumaki 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 Mizumaki is 16.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.7 °C.


Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Mizumaki is as shown below


History

The area of Mizumaki was part of ancient
Chikuzen Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of north and western Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikuzen bordered on Hizen to the east, and Buzen east, and Bungo to the southeast. Its abbreviated form name was (a ...
. About 3000 years ago, the large Ko-Onga Bay covered the area where the town of Mizumaki now lies. Soil and silt carried by the Onga River gradually built up until a flat plain was built up in the area. People began living and planting rice crops on that ground. Terrible floods continually plagued the area. 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 ...
the area was under the control of
Fukuoka Domain 270px, Kuroda Nagamasa, the 1st daimyo of Fukuoka Domain 270px, Kuroda Nagahiro, the 11th next to last daimyo of Fukuoka Domain 270px, Kuroda Nagatomo, final daimyo of Fukuoka Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was assoc ...
. 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 village of Mizumaki was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Mizumaki was raised to town status on February 1, 1940. Mizumaki was the site of "Japan Coal Mining Company, Onga Coal Mine" which used forced laborers in the mine, particularly Dutch, American and British POWs in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. A memorial called "The Memorial Cross " The Memorial Cross http://www.town.mizumaki.lg.jp/eng/exchang/exc.htm Retrieved 2009-08-14 commemorates the allied POWs who died during the war.


Government

Mizumaki 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. Mizumaki, collectively with the other municipalities of Onga District, contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the
Fukuoka 8th district is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. It covers Northern central parts of Fukuoka including the city of Iizuka, home to the Asō family ( Asō Corp./KK) and Tarō Asō, Liberal Democratic Party ...
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

During the
Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...
, Mizumaki, along with the municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have closed, leading to depopulation. The population continued to decline as coal mines closed. However, as the city began to develop as 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 ...
by taking advantage of its location near Kitakyushu City,


Education

Mizumaki has five public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.


Transportation


Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...
-
Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojiko Station, Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it ...
:
JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...
-
Chikuhō Main Line The is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Wakamatsu Station in Kitakyushu with Haruda Station in Chikushino, Fukuoka, Chikushino. Between Orio Station and Haruda Station, as ...
:


Highways

*


References


External links

*
Mizumaki official website

English homepage
on official website Towns in Fukuoka Prefecture {{Fukuoka-geo-stub