is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located on Amami Ōshima, in Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture,

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 village 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 1,621 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 15.73 persons per km². The total area was 103.07 km².

Geography

Uken occupies the southern portion of the west coast of Amami Ōshima, facing the East China Sea. About 90% of the village is mountainous, and includes Uwandake, with a height of . The climate is classified as humid subtropical (

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 * Setouchi * Yamato

History

Yakiuchi Village was established on April 1, 1908. It became Uken Village on November 1, 1917. Many inhabitants of the village emigrated to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

before

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 ...

. 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. Efforts to merge the village with neighboring municipalities collapsed in 2005. In 2006, the village government expressed an interest to be considered as a potential location for the disposal of high level

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

s to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, much to the outrage of many inhabitants.

References

External links

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