is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

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 ...

located in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

to the north,

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

and Kyoto Prefecture to the northwest,

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayam ...

to the west,

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

to the southwest, and

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

to the east. Tsu is the capital and

Yokkaichi is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokkaichi is located in north-centra ...

is the largest city of Mie Prefecture, with other major cities including Suzuka,

Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

Ise Ise may refer to: Places * Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of th ...

, and Kuwana. Mie Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are among ...

, forming the western side of

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: ...

which features the mouths of the

Kiso Three Rivers The refers to the three major rivers that make up the alluvial plain area of the Nōbi Plain of Japan. The three rivers are the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River. Given their location, they are sometimes referred to as the Nōbi ...

. Mie Prefecture is a popular

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

destination home to

Nagashima Spa Land is an amusement park in Kuwana, Mie, Japan. It features several roller coasters, thrill rides, and kid rides, a giant Ferris wheel, a water park, and 3 official hotels. As of 2012, Nagashima Spa Land is the 18th most visited amusement park i ...

, Suzuka International Racing Course, and some of the oldest and holiest sites in

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

, the

traditional religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a prima ...

of Japan, including the

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

and the

Tsubaki Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Yamamoto neighborhood of the city of Suzuka in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the two shrines which claim the title of ''ichinomiya'' of former Ise Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on ...

History

Until 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the area that is now Mie Prefecture was made up of

Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears ...

, Shima Province,

Iga Province was a province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. Under the ''Engishiki'' cl ...

, and part of

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 Prov ...

. Evidence of human habitation in Mie dates back more than 10,000 years. During the Jōmon and

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

periods, agricultural communities began to form along the river and coastal areas of the region.

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

is said to have been established during the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century the Saikū Imperial Residence was built in what is now Meiwa Town to serve as both a residence and administrative centre for the Saiō, an Imperial Princess who served as High Priestess of Ise Shrine. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the area now known as Mie Prefecture consisted of several

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Transport networks, including the Tokaido and Ise Roads, were built. Port towns such as Ohminato, Kuwana and Anōtsu, posting stations and castle towns flourished. Pilgrimages to Ise Shrine also became very popular. After the

, the former provinces of Ise, Shima and Iga as well as a portion of eastern Kii, were organized and reorganized repeatedly. In 1871, the area from the

in the north to present-day Tsu became Anōtsu Prefecture, and the area south of that became Watarai Prefecture. In 1872, the Anōtsu prefectural seat moved from Tsu to

, and the prefecture itself was renamed Mie. For a variety of reasons, including the strong likelihood that Mie would eventually merge with Watarai, the prefectural seat returned to Tsu the following year, and Mie Prefecture took its present-day form in 1876, when it merged with its southern neighbor. The name Mie supposedly was taken from a comment about the region made by

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

on his way back from conquering the eastern regions. In 1959, many people died as parts of Mie were devastated by the Ise-wan Typhoon, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history. Crops were destroyed, sea walls ruined, roads and railways damaged and a substantial number of people were injured or left homeless. In May 2016, the city of

Shima Shima may refer to: Places , Japan * Shima Province (志摩), one of the old provinces of Japan * Shima, Fukuoka (志摩), a former town in Fukuoka Prefecture * Shima, Mie (志摩), a city in Mie Prefecture ** Shima, Mie (town), a former town ...

hosted the 42nd G7 summit, the third summit without the presence of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Geography

Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the

, and borders on

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectu ...

, Gifu,

Shiga is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, and

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

. It is considered part of the Kansai and

Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

regions due to its geographical proximity to

and its cultural influence from Kansai, such as the fact that

Kansai dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...

is spoken in Mie. Traditionally, though, the Iga region of Mie is considered to have always been a part of Kansai. Mie Prefecture measures from north to south, and from east to west, and includes five distinct geographical areas: # the north-west of Mie consists of the Suzuka Mountains # along the coast of

from the

border to Ise City lies the Ise Plain, where most of the population of Mie live # south of the Ise Plain is the Shima Peninsula # bordering

in the central-west is the Iga Basin # running from central Mie to its southern borders is the Nunobiki Mountainous Region. Ise Shima Skyline DSC5445

Mie has a coastline that stretches and, as of 2000, Mie's landmass is 64.8 percent

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, 11.5 percent

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, 6 percent residential area, 3.8 percent

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s, and 3.6 percent

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s. The remaining 10.3 percent are not classified. The Ise Plain has a relatively moderate climate, averaging for the year. The Iga Basin has more daily temperature variance and averages temperatures 1 to 2 degrees cooler than the Ise Plain. Southern Mie, south of the Shima Peninsula, has a warmer

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

marine climate, with Owase Region having one of the heaviest rainfall figures for all of Japan. 36% of the total area of the prefecture comprised designated Natural Parks, namely: *

Ise-Shima National Park is a national park in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is characterized by its ria coast and islands scattered around a number of bays. The interior is hilly with Mount Asama-ga-take ( the highest peak. Natural areas * Ago Bay * Kami-shima * Kashiko ...

Yoshino-Kumano National Park is a national park comprising several non-contiguous areas of Mie, Nara, and Wakayama Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1936, the park includes Mount Yoshino, celebrated for its cherry blossoms, as well as elements of the UNESCO World Heritag ...

Murō-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Mie and Nara Prefectures, Japan. It was established in 1970. Places of interest * Mie: , , , * Nara: Mount Takami, , , Murō-ji, Ōno-ji Related municipalities * Mie: Iga, Matsusaka, Nabari, Tsu * Nara: Hig ...

Suzuka Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Mie and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. It was established in 1968. Sites of interest * Mount Gozaisho, Suzuka Mountains Related municipalities * Mie: Iga, Inabe, Kameyama, Komono, Suzuka, Yokkaichi * Shiga: Higash ...

* Akame Ichishikyō Prefectural Natural Park *

Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park on the coast of Mie Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1953, the park spans the municipalities of Suzuka and Tsu. See also * National Parks of Japan * Ise-Shima National Park is a national park in Mie Prefe ...

Kahadakyō Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in central Mie Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1953, the park spans the municipalities of Matsusaka and Taki. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** ...

* Okuise Miyagawakyō Prefectural Natural Park * Suigō Prefectural Natural Park

Municipalities

Since 2006, Mie consists of 29

municipalities 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 ...

: 14

cities 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 ...

and 15

towns 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 ...

Mergers

When the modern municipalities were introduced in 1889, Mie initially consisted of 336 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-level) city and 21

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

with 18

and 317

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

. With the Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s, the number of municipalities in Mie had dropped to 88 by 1956. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s reduced the total from 69 to 29 between 2000 and 2006.

Economy

Mie Prefecture has traditionally been a link between east and west Japan, thanks largely to the Tokaido and Ise Pilgrimage Roads. Traditional handicrafts such as Iga Braid, Yokkaichi Banko Pottery, Suzuka Ink, Iga Pottery and Ise Katagami flourished. With 65% of the prefecture consisting of forests and with over of coastline, Mie has a long been associated with forestry and seafood industries. Mie also produces

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

, cultured pearls and fruit, mainly

mandarin orange The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-colou ...

s. Food production companies include Azuma Foods. Northern Mie is home to a number of manufacturing industries, mainly transport machinery manufacturing (vehicles and ships) and heavy chemical industries such as oil refineries. As well as this, Mie Prefecture is expanding into more advanced industries including the manufacture of semiconductors and liquid crystal displays. In Suzuka, the Honda Motor Company maintains a factory established in 1960 that built the

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

, as well as other vehicles.

Demographics

Culture

Universities

*Yokkaichi **

Yokkaichi University is a private university in Yokkaichi, Mie, 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 ...

** Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University *Suzuka ** Suzuka International University ** Suzuka University of Medical Science ** Suzuka National College of Technology *Tsu **

Mie University Mie University (三重大学; ''Mie Daigaku'', abbreviated to 三重大 ''Miedai'') is a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan. As with other national universities, Mie University has been a National University Corporation since Apr ...

** Mie Prefectural College of Nursing *Matsusaka ** Mie Chukyo University *Ise **

Kogakkan University is a private university at Ise, Mie, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1882, and it was chartered as a university in 1940. Kogakkan University is one of only two universities in Japan to offer a Shinto studies program, whose gra ...

*Toba ** Toba National College of Maritime Technology

Transportation

Rail

* JR Central **

Kansai Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both compan ...

(Nagoya-Kameyama) **Kisei Line **Sangu Line *JR West **Kansai Line (Kameyama-Nara) **Kusatsu Line (Tsuge Station) *Kintetsu Railway, Kintetsu **Nagoya Line (Kintetsu), Nagoya Line **Osaka Line **Yamada Line (Kintetsu), Yamada Line **Toba Line **Shima Line **Yunoyama Line **Kintetsu Uchibe Line, Uchibe Line **Kintetsu Hachioji Line, Hachioji Line **Suzuka Line *Yoro Railway *Iga Railway *Ise Railway *Sangi Railway

Road

Expressways and toll roads

*Higashi-Meihan Expressway, East Meihan Expressway *Shin-Meishin Expressway, Second Meishin Expressway *Ise Expressway *Isewangan Expressway, Ise Bayside Expressway *Kisei Expressway *Meihan National Highway *Ise Shima Skyline *Ise Futami Toba Road *Kumano Owase Road

National highways

*Route 1 *Route 23 (Ise-Yokkaichi-Nagoya-Gamagori-Toyohashi) *Route 25 (Meihan Highway) *Route 42 *Route 163 *Route 164 (Yokkaichi) *Route 165 *Route 167 (Shima-Toba -Ise) *Route 258 *Route 301 *Route 311 *Route 365 *Route 421 *Route 422 *Route 425 (Owase-Totsukawa-Gobo, Wakayama, Gobo) *Route 477

Ports

*Yokkaichi Port - International and domestic container and goods hub port *Tsu Port - Hydrofoil ferry route to Centrair airport (Chubu International Airport) *Matsuzaka Port - Hydrofoil ferry route to Centrair *Toba Port - Ferry route to Ira Cape

Tourism

Notable places

- Japan's holiest Shinto shrine. *

- Japan's oldest Shinto shrine. * Kumano Kodō - World Heritage Site. Ancient road in southern Mie once used by pilgrims. * Iga, Mie, Iga-Ueno - Birthplace of the ninja and home to the Iga Ninja Museum. *

* Kitabatake Shrine, Tage Kitabatakeshi Yakata - Tage Kitabatake clan fortified residence, one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017. * Sakakibara Onsen - Famous onsen near Tsu, considered to be the 3rd best onsen in Japan. * Yunoyama Onsen - Famous onsen near Yokkaichi that sits atop Mount Gozaisho. *

- One of the largest amusement parks in Japan, located in Kuwana. * Mikimoto Pearl Island - Museum in Toba that is dedicated to Kōkichi Mikimoto, inventor of pearl cultivation. * Meoto Iwa, The Wedded Rocks of Okitama Shrine in Futami, Mie, Futami (now part of the city of Ise) * Suzuka Circuit - Japan's most famous motor racetrack. * Saikū - Site of Heian Period, Heian Imperial residence, with modern museum and reconstructed Heian building. * A large Sonic the Hedgehog statue can be found near Kanonji temple which has been the topic of discussion amongst gaming publications.

Notable citizens

* Aoi, guitarist of The Gazette (band), The GazettE * Daikokuya Kōdayū, a Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia * Daisuke Kishio, voice actor * Die (musician), guitarist from Dir en grey * Hakaru Hashimoto, medical scientist * Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation, chairman of the Japan Business Federation * Hiroyuki Ito, a video game designer working for Square Enix * Jun Maeda, a Japanese writer and co-founder of the software company Key (company), Key * Kana Nishino, singer * Katsuya Okada, former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Foreign Minister, and Democratic Party of Japan, DPJ Secretary General * Keiichi Yabu, relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants * Ken Hirai, Japanese R&B and pop singer * Kenta Nishimoto, professional badminton player * Kota Sasaki, racing driver * Mashiho Takata, a member of Korean-Pop boy group Treasure (band), Treasure * Matsuo Bashō, the most famous poet of the

, renowned for his haiku * Mikimoto Kōkichi, founder of the cultured pearl industry * Mitski, Mitski Miyawaki, Japanese-American singer-songwriter * Mitsui Takatoshi, founder of the Mitsui Group * Miwa Asao, beach volleyball player * Mizuki Noguchi, the Gold medal, gold medalist in the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon, women's marathon event in the 2004 Summer Olympics * Norinaga Motoori, a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku during the

* Norinaga Motoori, scholar of Kokugaku during the

* Ranpo Edogawa, famous mystery novelist * Yasujirō Ozu, famous filmmaker * Yukio Ozaki, a politician said to be the father of Japan's constitutional government

Famous products

* Akafuku, a sweet made with mochi and sweet red bean paste * Spiny lobster, known as ''Ise ebi'' (伊勢えび), named after the old province * Matsusaka beef

Government and politics

The Mie Prefectural Government, prefectural government was briefly moved to Yokkaichi, Mie, Yokkaichi Town in Mie District, Ise, Mie District in 1872 (hence the name Mie), but the capital moved back to Anotsu, Anō District, Ise, Anō District (present-day Tsu City) in 1873 and has remained there since. Ignoring small changes through cross-prefectural municipal mergers, neighbourhood transfers and coastline variations, Mie reached its present borders in 1876 when it absorbed Watarai Prefecture. After the modern reactivation of

in 1878/79, Mie consisted of 21 districts (merged down to 15 in the 1890s). The first prefectural assembly was elected in March 1879 and convened in April. In the introduction of modern Municipalities of Japan, cities, towns and villages in 1889, Anotsu became district-independent as Tsu Cities of Japan, City and the districts were subdivided into 18

and 317

(see the List of mergers in Mie Prefecture for changes since then). As in all prefectures except Okinawa, the governor of Mie is directly elected since 1947. The Mie Prefectural Assembly, prefectural assembly has 51 members. Both prefectural elections in Mie are currently held as part of unified local elections. In the last round in 2019, governor Eikei Suzuki easily won a third term with broad support from Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP, ''Shinsei Mie'' (see below) and Kōmeitō, against only one, Japanese Communist Party, JCP-supported challenger; Suzuki was originally 2011 Japanese unified local elections, elected narrowly in 2011 as centre-right candidate against centre-left supported Naohisa Matsuda, former mayor of Tsu City. In the Mie assembly, the LDP is strongest party; but it is distributed across several parliamentary groups, and the strongest group is ''Shisei Mie'' (新政みえ; "Renewal Mie") around members of several local parties of former Democratic Party of Japan, Democrats.Prefectural assembly
Members by parliamentary group
(Japanese), retrieved June 24, 2020. In the National Diet, Mie is represented by four directly elected members of the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives and two (one per class) in the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors. After the national elections of 2016, 2017 and 2019, Mie's directly elected delegation was evenly split between Liberal Democrats (HR district #1: Norihisa Tamura, #4: Noriyo Mitsuya, HC 2019–25 class: Yūmi Yoshikawa) and ex-Democrats (HR #2: Masaharu Nakagawa (House of Representatives), Masaharu Nakagawa, #3: Katsuya Okada, HC 2016–22 class: Hirokazu Shiba) in both houses of the Diet.

Sister states

* São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil * Henan, China * Valencian Community, Valencia, Spain

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 58053128

External links

Kanko Mie tourist information

{{Authority control Mie Prefecture, Kansai region Prefectures of Japan