As of October 1, 2017[update], the city has an estimatedpopulation of 1,503,690, with 716,470households,[1] and apopulation density of 10,000 persons per km2. Kawasaki is the only city in Japan with more than one million inhabitants that is not a prefectural capital. The total area is 142.70 km2 (55.10 sq mi).
Archaeological evidence from the JapanesePaleolithic andJōmon period can only be found in the northwestTama Hills. The course of the Tama and the coast of the Bay of Tokyo have also changed in historical times, so that large parts of the urban area are geologically young.
With the introduction of theRitsuryō legal system, the area came to theMusashi Province in the 7th century. In theNara period, the center of the Tachibana district was probably in the area of today's Takatsu district. Since theHeian period, the domain of the Inage clan has expanded here. Around theHeiken-ji Buddhist temple (better known as Kawasaki-Daishi), founded in 1128, a monzen-machi, a busy district for the supply of pilgrims, soon emerged. Between theKamakura period andSengoku period, smaller feudal lords ruled the area until it finally came under the control of theLater Hōjō clan.
In 1611, Koizumi Jidayū had Nikaryō Yōsui built, a canal system on the right bank of the Tama for irrigating the fields, which in some cases still runs through the densely built-up city. On the long-distanceKaidō roadsTōkaidō and Nakaharakaidō built byEdo-Bakufu, stations were built in the area of what would later become Kawasaki, which increased its importance. The Kawasaki station (Kawasaki-juku, near today's Kawasaki station) on the Tōkaidō was not officially recognized until 1623 as the last of the 53 Tōkaidō stations. The Bakufu let the bridges over the Tama collapse and there were ferry connections to nearby Edo in several places in today's Kawasaki, which laid the foundation for the development of the city.
Gallery
Old building in the "Kura-zukuri" style on Oyama Kaido street
Rokugō no Watashi in the 1860s photographed byFelice Beato
The rapidurbanization of the area, which continues to this day, began in theMeiji andTaishō eras. In 1872,Kawasaki Station was established on theTōkaidō Main Line which was Japan's first railway line.[2] In 1889, the city (machi) Kawasaki in the district (gun) Tachibana was created according to the Japanese municipal system introduced the year before. In 1912 the border betweenKanagawa andTokyo prefectures was established as theTama River. On July 1, 1924, the independent city (shi-) of Kawasaki with 48,394 inhabitants was formed through a merger with the city of Daishi (formerly Daishigawara) and the village of Miyuki.[3]
People from the Korean peninsula were made to work in the industrial sector in the city,[4] working on railways construction, or rebuilding roads damaged by U.S. bombings towards the end of WWII.[5] People from Okinawa were also coming to the city, and in 1924, the oldest Okinawans Association in Japan was founded in Kawasaki.[6][7]
As part ofWorld War II, the city was bombed three times by theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between April 1945 and July 1945. The most serious attack was an area bombing withNapalm bombs on April 15, 1945. The attacks destroyed around 35% of the urban area and claimed 1,520 dead and 8,759 injured. The attacks burned down 9.3 km2 of the city (seeBombing of Tokyo).[citation needed] Kawasaki became a target of the first mainland bombing by the US military in 1942, followed by multiple bombings, partly due to the city's heavy and chemical industrial complex supplying the war efforts in Asia and the Pacific.[8]
On April 15, 1945, large parts of the area around the train station and the industrial area at the port were destroyed by air raids. Since the 1950s, residential areas for commuters have been created in the northeastern part of the city, which are connected directly to the centers of Tokyo by new railway lines. On April 1, 1972, Kawasaki became a decree-designated city (seirei shitei toshi) with 5 districts. 1973[3] the population exceeded the million mark. In 1982 the new districts of Miyamae and Asao were created by splitting off from the districts of Takatsu and Tama. In the course ofdeindustrialization, industrial areas have recently been increasingly converted into residential areas (mostlyMulti-family residential), so that a further increase in population density can be expected.
Kawasaki is located on the right bank of theTama River, which flows into the Tokyo Bay here. The city lies like a narrow band betweenTokyo in the northeast andYokohama in the southwest. The city connects the two major cities and is part of theGreater Tokyo Area, the largest and most densely populated urban area in the world.
The eastern area along the coast ofTokyo Bay is a densely populated industrial zone, part of theKeihin Industrial Zone. In contrast, the western districts in theTama Hills consist largely of residential areas for commuters in theTokyo /Yokohama region.
Two rivers cross the urban area. The Tama unites with the tributaries Misawa, Yamashita, Gotanda, Nikaryō main river and Hirase; Katahira, Asao, Shimpukuji, Arima, E, Shibu and Yagami flow into the Tsurumi.
The land on the coast of the city is crossed by a network ofcanals (Tama Canal, Suehiro Canal, Chidori Canal, Yakō Canal, Daishi Canal, Mizue Canal, Shiohama Canal, Iriesaki Canal, Asano Canal, Ikegami Canal, Minami-Watarida Canal, Tanabe Canal, Shiraishi Canal and the Sakai Canal). In addition, the historic Nikaryō Yōsui canal still exists in the hinterland.
Kawasaki is governed by Mayor Norihiko Fukuda, anindependent elected on 27 October 2013.[11] The city assembly has 63 elected members. Mayor Fukuda was re-elected to a second term in office on 22 October 2017 with support fromLDP and Kōmeitō against former municipal MP Akiko Yoshizawa andJCP-supported former primary school teacher Hirokazu Ichiko.[12][13]
The 60-member city parliament of Kawasaki was re-elected in the unified elections in April 2023. The LDP won 17 seats and is the largest party in the assembly.[14]
Kawasaki was in June 2008 the second Japanese "government-designated city" (seirei shitei toshi) afterHiroshima, which allowed foreigners to participate in municipal referendums.[15]
In the 105-member prefectural parliament of Kanagawa, the seven districts of Kawasaki serve as constituencies, electing 18 deputies in total.[16][17]
For theHouse of Representatives (Japan), Kawasaki comprises the constituencies Kanagawa 9 (Tama and Asao wards), 10 (Kawasaki and Saiwai wards) and 18 (Nakahara and Takatsu wards) and 19 (Miyamae ward, with Tsuzuki ward,Yokohama), following changes since the last general election in 2021.[18] In the 2021 election, the three seats went unchanged to Liberal DemocratsKazunori Tanaka andDaishirō Yamagiwa, and ex-DemocratHirofumi Ryū of the Constitutional Democratic Party.[19]
Kawasaki Todoroki Baseball Stadium: Located in Nakahara-ku. Maximum capacity of 5,000 people. Used for preliminary rounds ofhigh school baseball and American football games.
Todoroki Athletics Stadium: Located in Nakahara-ku. Maximum capacity of 25,000 people. Opened in 1964, the stadium underwent several renovations before becoming the home field for theKawasaki Frontale. Also used frequently for track & field competitions.
Kawasaki Prefectural Gymnasium: Located in Kawasaki-ku. Opened in 1956, and is used forPuroresu matches. 20 minutes walking distance from Kawasaki Station's east entrance.
Kawasaki, particularly its eastern portion, has several factories and development bases of heavy industry (e.g.,JFE Group,ENEOS) and high technology (e.g.,Fujitsu,NEC,Toshiba,Dell Japan andSigma[23]). Many of these factories are built on reclaimed land nearTokyo Bay, taking advantage of access to the sea as well, as regional rail and highway networks and the nearbyHaneda Airport.
Koreatown: eastern Kawasaki has the second largest concentration ofKoreans in Japan, afterOsaka.[citation needed] In 1997 it became the first municipality to allow non-Japanese nationals to take civil service employment.
Developed national road 466 to Tokyo and Yokohama in Miyamae-kuTokyo Bay Aqua-Line is an expressway across Tokyo Bay.
Expressway
Tōmei Expressway is a north-south expressway running from Tokyo toNagoya and in central area. Tōmei-Kawasaki Interchange is served from Kawasaki.
Daisan Keihin Road is a north-south expressway running from Tokyo toHodogaya-ku, Yokohama and in central area. Keihin-Kawasaki Interchange is served from Kawasaki.
Shuto Expressway Route K1 (Yokohane Route) is a north-south expressway running fromShuto Expressway Route 1 to Shuto Expressway Route K3 (Kariba Route) and in southern area. Daishi Interchange, Hama-Kawasaki Interchange, and Asada Interchange are served from Kawasaki.
Shuto Expressway Route K6 (Kawasaki Route) is an expressway in southern area. Daishi Interchange, Tonomachi Interchange, and Ukishima Interchange are served from Kawasaki.
National Route 1 and15 are north-south highways running in southern area. Due to elongated territory from east to west, these highways run short length in Kawasaki.
Japan National Route 246 is a north-south highways running in central area. It also runs short length in Kawasaki.
Japan National Route 132 is short highway running in southern area. It bounds National Route 15 and port of kawasaki.
Japan National Route 357 is an industrial highway in southern area. It runs only in Higashi-Ōgishima Island in Kawasaki.
^ab"Population News of Major Cities". Statistical Information Division, Policy Bureau, City of Yokohama. September 1, 2015. Archived fromthe original on January 13, 2016. RetrievedNovember 10, 2017.
