Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県,Nagasaki-ken[a]) is aprefecture ofJapan, mainly located on the island ofKyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,481 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,130km2 (1,594sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture bordersSaga Prefecture to the northeast.
Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province ofHizen with the island provinces ofTsushima andIki.[3] Facing China and Korea, the region aroundHirado was a traditional center for traders and pirates.
During the 16th century,Catholic missionaries and traders fromPortugal arrived and became active in Hirado and Nagasaki, which became a major center for foreign trade. After being given free rein inOda Nobunaga's period, the missionaries were forced out little by little, until finally, in theTokugawa era, Christianity was banned under theSakoku national isolation policy: Japanese foreign trade was restricted to Chinese and Dutch traders based atDejima in Nagasaki. However,Kirishitan (Japanese Christian) worship continued underground. TheseKakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians) were tried at every step, forced to step onfumi-e ("trample pictures", images of theVirgin Mary and saints) to prove that they were non-Christian. With the banishment of all Catholicmissionaries, traders from Catholic countries were also forced out of the country. Along with them, their children, half Japanese and half European, were forced to leave. The majority was sent to Jagatara (Jakarta) and are still remembered by the locals as the people who wrote the poignant letters which were smuggled across the sea to their homeland.
During theMeiji Restoration, Nagasaki andSasebo became major ports for foreign trade, and eventually major military bases and shipbuilding centers for theImperial Japanese Navy and theMitsubishi Heavy Industries up toWorld War II.On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which destroyed all buildings in a 1.6-kilometre (1.0 mi) radius from the point of impact and extensively damaged other parts of the city. Roughly 39,000 people were killed, including 27,778 Japanese munitions workers, 2,000 Korean forced workers, and 150 Japanese soldiers. About 68–80% of the industrial production was destroyed to the point it would not recover for months or at least a year.
An overview of 1957 Isahaya floods
Nagasaki Prefecture contains many areas prone to heavy rain and subsequent landslide damage. In July 1957, mainly in the Isahaya area, damage from heavy rains, flooding and landslides lead to a death toll of 586, with 136 people missing and 3,860 injured. In July 1982, typhoon damage in the Nagasaki area lead to 299 fatalities, according to a report by the Japanese government.[citation needed]
The current governor of Nagasaki isKengo Oishi, who defeated three-term incumbentHōdō Nakamura in 2022. Oishi, a doctor, was 39 years old when he took office, and the youngest sitting prefectural governor in Japan.[6] Nakamura was first elected in 2010 to succeedGenjirō Kaneko and was previously a vice-governor.
TheNagasaki Prefectural Assembly [ja] has a regular membership of 46, elected in 16 electoral districts in unified regional elections (last round:2011). As of April 2014, theLDP-led caucus has 23 members, theDPJ-SDP-led caucus 17.
In the National Diet, Nagasaki is represented by four directly elected members of the House of Representatives and two (one per ordinary election) of the House of Councillors. After the most recent national elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, Nagasaki sends an all-LDP delegation to the Diet (excluding members who lost election in Nagasaki districts, but were elected to the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives in theKyūshū block).
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