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 ...

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

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 166,208 in 76,639 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 7300 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Niiza is located at the southernmost tip of Saitama Prefecture, and is essentially a suburb of the Tokyo

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. The entire city is located on the Musashino Plateau, with the Yanase River running through the western part of the city, and the Kurome River running through the eastern part of the city. Niiza includes the southernmost point of

, which faces

Nishitōkyō () is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 206,047, and a population density of 13,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nishitokyo is located at th ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Asaka * Miyoshi * Shiki *

Tokorozawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is ...

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

* Higashikurume * Kiyose *

Nerima is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City. , the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons ...

Nishitokyo () is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 206,047, and a population density of 13,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nishitokyo is located at th ...

Climate

Niiza 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 Niiza is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1449 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Niiza has increased rapidly from the 1960s to the present day.

History

The area of modern Niiza has been settled since prehistoric times. It was part of Shinra County within

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

in the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

. Shinra County (新羅郡) was originally written with the same ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

'' as the ancient Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, and the area was settled by immigrants from

in 758 AD. The name was changed to Niikura County (新座郡) in the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. The town of Owada was created within Niikura District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Niikura District was abolished in 1896, becoming part of Kitaasachi District. On March 1, 1955, Owada annexed the neighboring village of Katayama becoming Niiza Town, which was raised to city status on November 1, 1970.

Government

Niiza 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 26 members. Niiza contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Saitama 4th district Saitama 4th district (埼玉県第4区, ''Saitama-ken dai-yonku '' or simply 埼玉4区, ''Saitama-ken yonku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan located in Saitama Prefecture is a ...

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 ...

. In the 2021 Japanese general election, from

, Yasushi Hosaka was elected.

Economy

Toppan is a Japanese global printing company. Toppan was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Tokyo. History As of March 2013, the company has 169 subsidiary and affiliate (commerce), affiliate companies. Toppan is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exch ...

printing has a large factory in Niiza, which is also home to a number of other light manufacturing, electronics and transportation/warehousing companies. However, due to its proximity to Tokyo, over a third of the workforce commutes daily, making Niiza largely 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

Colleges and universities: *

Atomi University is a private women's college in Niiza, Saitama, Japan, established in 1965. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1875. Atomi Junior College was a private junior college in Bunkyo Ward, in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1950 and close ...

* Jumonji University *

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is one of the five MARCH (Japanese universities), MARCH universities, the group of private universities in the Kantō region, Kanto region, toge ...

Primary and secondary schools: *Niiza has 17 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are two private combined junior/senior high schools.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

–

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a unclosed loop around central Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tok ...

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second lon ...

–

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to as on T ...

Highway

* * *

Military Facilities

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, Owada Communication Site Owada Communication Site is former communication site of

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

Sister cities

Niiza is twinned with: *

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

, Finland, since 1997 *

Nasushiobara, Tochigi 270px, Shiobara Onsen is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 115,794 in 48,437 households, and a population density of 67 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Nasushioba ...

, Japan, since 2000 * Tōkamachi, Niigata, Japan, since 2002 *

Jiyuan Jiyuan ( zh, s= , t=濟源 , p=Jìyuán) is a sub-prefecture-level city in northwestern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Jiaozuo and Luoyang to the east and southwest respectively, as well as ...

, China, since 2002 *

Neuruppin Neuruppin (, , in contrast to ":de:Alt Ruppin, Old Ruppin"; ; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the noveli ...

, Germany, since 2003

Local attractions

* Heirin-ji, a large

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

Zen Buddhist Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

temple. The temple is located in Nobitome, close to Niiza City Hall.

Notable people from Niiza

* Yoichi Furuya, former actor, known for his tenure as Jun Yazumi in

Ultraman Tiga is a Japanese tokusatsu TV drama and the eighth entry (twelfth overall) in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Mainichi Broadcasting System, ''Ultraman Tiga'' had aired at 6:00 pm and aired between September 7, 1996, t ...

Umika Kawashima is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She is a former member of the Japanese girl group 9nine. Her solo single "Maji de Koi Suru 5 Byō Mae/Ichigo Iro no Kimochi", on the ''Watashi no Yasashikunai Senpai'' soundtrack, reached #46 on th ...

, actress * Masaya Kikawada, actor *

Yoko Mitsuya is a Japanese gravure idol and actress. Biography Yoko Mitsuya was born in Tokyo but moved to Saitama shortly after she was born. She began practicing ballet as a first grader; her dream was to become a ballerina. When she was in sixth grad ...

, gravure idol *

Yuto Otsuka (basketball, born 1990) is a Japanese professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shoo ...

Masaaki Taniai is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Niiza, Saitama, he attended Kyoto University and received a master's degree in agricultural economy from it. ...

, politician

In popular culture

On April 7, 2003, Niiza gave the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

character

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

an honorary citizenship to mark the date given as his birthdate in the original

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. Later in 2004, the theme music from the TV series would eventually be used to signal the departure of a train at JR Niiza Station on the JR Musashino Line.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control * Cities in Saitama Prefecture