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 primarily on

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands, all of which belong to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 712.35 ...

, in Ōshima District,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

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 ...

. As of 1 October 2020, 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 8,546 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 35.62 persons per km². The total area was 239.91 km².

Geography

Setouchi occupies the southern portion of Amami Ōshima, facing the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It also includes numerous offshore islands of Amami Ōshima, including the inhabited islands of Kakeromajima, Ukejima and Yoroshima.

Climate

The climate is classified as

humid subtropical 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 la ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, but is highest in the months of May, June and September. The area is subject to frequent

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Amami * Uken

History

Higashikata Village was established on April 1, 1908. It became the town of Koniya on April 1, 1936. As with all of the Amami Islands, the village came under the administration of the United States from July 1, 1946 to December 25, 1953. On September 1, 1956 Koniya merged with three neighboring villages to form the town of Setouchi.

Economy

The town economy is primarily based on agriculture, with

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and citrus

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

as the main crops. Industries include shochu refining and commercial fishing.

Transportation

Ports

*Koniya Port, with ferry connections to Kagoshima and to the other Amami islands.

Highway

Noted people from Setouchi

* Ikue Asazaki – musician *

Meisei Chikara is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Setouchi, Kagoshima. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his ''makuuchi'' debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been '' sekiwake''. He wrestles for Tatsunami stable. Unusually f ...

- sumo wrestler *

Chitose Hajime is a Japanese singer from Amami Ōshima. She sings in the shima-uta style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. History Early life Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young a ...

– musician *

Tadashi Kanehisa was a Japanese folklorist and linguist who worked on the language and culture of his home island Kakeroma, and by extension, Amami Ōshima of southwestern Japan. As an informant of the Shodon dialect, he also worked with linguists Yukio Uemura, ...

– folklorist * Kenji Midori – Karateka * Shomu Nobori - Russian translator Image:View of Katetsu cove from nearby Manen-zaki.jpg, Katetsu cove from nearby Manenzaki Image:Uke Island Uke-Amuro port Kagoshima,JAPAN.jpg, Uke Island Image:Yoro island kagoshima,japan.jpg, Yoro Island

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in Kagoshima Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan