Top: View of downtown Yokosuka from Verny Seaside Park,Middle: Mikasa Battleship Monument and Heihachirō Togō Statue, Kurihama Matthew Perry Park,Bottom:Yokosuka Naval Curry,Kannon Cape, and seaside park (all item for left to right)
As of February 2024[update], the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of 3,708 inhabitants per square kilometre (9,600/sq mi).[1] The total area is 100.7 km2 (38.9 sq mi). Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in theGreater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in theKantō region. The city is home toUnited States Fleet Activities Yokosuka.
The English sailorWilliam Adams, the first Briton to set foot in Japan, arrived atUraga aboard the Dutch trading vesselLiefde in 1600. In 1612, he was granted the title ofsamurai and a fief in Hemi within the boundaries of present-day Yokosuka, due to his services to theTokugawa shogunate. A monument to Adams (calledMiura Anjin in Japanese) is a local landmark in Yokosuka.
During theEdo period, Yokosukatenryō territory was controlled directly by theTokugawa shogunate, but administered through varioushatamoto. Due to its strategic location at the entrance toTokyo Bay, the Shogunate established the post of UragaBugyō in 1720, and all shipping into the bay was required to stop for inspection. As concerns over the increasing number of incursions by foreign vessels and attempts to end Japan's self-imposednational seclusion policy, the Shogunate established a number ofcoastal artillery batteries around Yokosuka, including an outpost at Ōtsu in 1842. However, despite these efforts, in 1853, United States navalCommodoreMatthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with his fleet ofBlack Ships and came ashore at Kurihama, in southern Yokosuka, leading to the opening of diplomatic and trade relations between Japan and the United States. TheKanrin Maru sailed from Yokosuka in 1860 with thefirst Japanese diplomatic embassy to the United States in 1860.
During the turbulentBakumatsu period, the Shogunate selected Yokosuka as the site for a modern naval base, and hired theFrench engineerLéonce Verny in 1865 to oversee the development ofshipbuilding facilities, beginning with Yokosuka Iron Foundry.Yokosuka Naval Arsenal became the first modernarsenal to be created in Japan. The construction of the arsenal was the central point of a global modern infrastructure, that was to prove an important first step for the modernization of Japan's industry. Modern buildings, the Hashirimizu waterway, foundries, brick factories, and technical schools to train Japanese technicians were established.
TheGreat Kantō earthquake of 1923 caused severe damage to Yokosuka, including the naval base which lost two years' operations of oil supplies. The city continued to expand in 1933 with the annexation of neighboring Kinugasa Village and Taura Town in 1933 and Kurihama Village in 1937. In 1943, the city also annexed the neighboring towns and villages of Uraga, Kitashitaura, Okusu, Nagai and Takeyama, as well asZushi.[citation needed]
DuringWorld War II, Yokosuka was bombed on April 18, 1942, by AmericanB-25 bombers in theDoolittle Raid with little damage as a retaliation to theattack on Pearl Harbor. Aside from minor sporadic tactical air raids byUnited States Navy aircraft, it was not bombed again during the war; however, from 1938 to 1945 more than 260 caves in more than 20 separate tunnel/cave networks were built throughout the area, with at least 27 kilometers of known tunnels within the grounds of Yokosuka Naval Base. Many more tunnels are scattered throughout the surrounding areas. During the war, these tunnels and caves provided areas in which work could be done in secrecy, safe from air attacks. A 500-bed hospital, a large electrical power generating facility, and a midget submarine factory and warehouse were among the many facilities built. American occupation forces landed at Yokosuka on August 30, 1945, after thesurrender of Japan, and the naval base has been used by the US Navy since that time. The caves were used for storage and as an emergency shelter during the Korean War.[2]
From the 1950s,United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka has been home port for theUnited States Seventh Fleet, and played a critical support role in theKorean War and theVietnam War.[3] Yokosuka was the site of many anti-war protests during the late 1960s and 1970s. The nuclear-poweredUSSGeorge Washington, formerly based at Yokosuka, was the first U.S. nuclear-powered ship that had been permanently based in Japan. TheJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force also operates a military port next to the American base, as well as numerous training facilities at scattered locations around the city. For those reasons, there are a few hundred Americans and a thousand Filipinos in Yokosuka.[4]
In 2001, Yokosuka was designated as acore city, with increased autonomy from the central government.[citation needed]
Aside from the economic impact of its various military facilities, Yokosuka is also an industrial city, with factories operated byNissan Motors and its affiliated subsidiaries employing thousands of local residents. TheNissan Leaf,Nissan Cube, andNissan Juke models are assembled in the 520,000-square-metre (5,600,000 sq ft)Oppama plant [ja] in Yokosuka. The factory began operations in 1961 where theNissan Bluebird was originally built.[5] Every May, there is a festival celebratingJapanese curry, which draws 50,000 attendees each year.[6] The plant is adjacent to Nissan's Research and Development Center, the Oppama Proving Ground and the Oppama Wharf, from which Nissan ships vehicles made at Oppama and Nissan's other two Japanese vehicle assembly plants to other regions of Japan and overseas.[citation needed]
TheYokosuka Research Park, established in 1997, is a major center for the Japanese telecommunications industry, and is where many of the wireless, mobile communications related companies have set up their research and development centers and joint testing facilities.[citation needed]
Per Japanese census data,[7][8] Yokosuka's population peaked around the year 1990 and has declined since then. Foreign citizens in Yokosuka are mainlyFilipinos,Koreans,Chinese, andAmericans.[9]
On 26 October 2011 Yokosuka held its annual nuclear accident evacuation drill. This drill was first held in 2008 when the nuclear-powered aircraft carrierUSSGeorge Washington was employed at the US naval base near this city. About 70 people, residents and firefighters took part in the drill. Firefighters ordered the residents of the city to stay indoors, assuming abnormally high levels of radiation around the US base. Radioactive contamination was controlled in the emergency response center by city officials. The US Navy refused to take part this, because of the supposed impossibility of radiation leaking outside the base.[citation needed] In December 2011, another drill was scheduled with Yokosuka and other cities to prepare for the possibility that people on board the ship might be exposed to radiation.[12]
One unintended consequence of anti-nuclear sentiment is the construction of coal fired power plants, which causesair pollution and worsensglobal warming. As of 2020, two coal-fired power plants are proposed to be built in Yokosuka, even despite the climate emergency. Thesecoal-fired power plants are being built without a full environmental review, and local residents are suing the government of Japan over its construction. Environment ministerShinjirō Koizumi has been "a target of the activists' wrath" because of his support for this project.[13]
Sarushima is an uninhabited island in theTokyo Bay, accessible by ferry from Yokosuka.[15]
TheMikasa, flagship ofAdmiral Togo at theBattle of Tsushima, built in Britain byVickers, is preserved on dry land at Yokosuka. It is a museum, complete with actors dressed like members of the original crew, and can be visited for an entrance fee of 600 yen.[16]
The Club Alliance enlisted club, which lies just inside the main gate of Yokosuka Naval Base, opened in 1983. It replaced the old Club Alliance which was demolished to make way for thePrince Hotel. The old Club Alliance is whereRyudo Uzaki got his start playingrock and roll. "The Honch", a mecca for shopping and nightlife and located just outside the Yokosuka Naval Base's main gates, is a popular attraction for tourists and sailors stationed nearby, as well as local Japanese residents.[citation needed]
TheYokosuka Arts Theatre, part of the Bay Square complex byKenzō Tange, is a venue for opera, orchestral concerts, chamber music, and films.[17]
Dobuita Street is situated in Yokosuka, close to the U.S. naval base. Therefore, this High Street has a very American influence, with many shops accepting U.S. dollars. In the evening the street turns into the local bar and club district for the area.[citation needed]
A museum in memory of rock musicianHide, a native of Yokosuka, opened on July 20, 2000.[18] It has been reported that Japan's former prime minister,Junichiro Koizumi, was influential in getting it built as he was a big fan of Hide's bandX Japan.[19] The museum stayed open, past its original three-year plan, for five years, before closing on 25 September 2005.[18]
Yokosuka is considered a place of origin ofsukajan jackets. These embroidered satin bombers are a popular souvenir from the city, especially the more expensive, handmade ones.[20]
Yokosuka is a major location in theArpeggio of Blue Steel franchise, where it serves as one of Japan's few remaining naval facilities, the only one equipped with a functional shipyard and maritime academy. Due to rising sea levels, the port is built above the ruins of the submerged original city's remains. All the main cast lived and attended school there before forming the privateer fleetBlue Steel that uses it as their home port.[citation needed]
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