Wakayama Prefecture


Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 and a geographic area of. Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to the northeast.
Wakayama is the capital and largest city of Wakayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Tanabe, Hashimoto, and Kinokawa. Wakayama Prefecture is located on the southwestern coast of the Kii Peninsula on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.
WWW Official Site

History

Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.

1953 flood disaster

On July 17–18, 1953, a torrential heavy rain occurred, followed by collapse of levees, river flooding and landslides in a wide area. Many bridges and houses were destroyed. According to an officially confirmed report by the Government of Japan, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.

Geography

As of 31 March 2020, 13 percent of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai and Yoshino-Kumano National Parks; Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen and Kōya-Ryūjin Quasi-National Parks; and Enju Kaigan, Hatenashi Sanmyaku, Hikigawa, Jōgamori Hokodai, Kōyasanchō Ishimichi-Tamagawakyō, Kozagawa, Nishiarida, Oishi Kōgen, Ōtōsan, Ryūmonzan, Shiramisan-Wadagawakyō, and Shirasaki Kaigan Prefectural Natural Parks.

Cities

Nine cities are in Wakayama Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Demographics

Since 1996, population of Wakayama Prefecture has kept declining, and since 2010, it has been the only prefecture in Kansai region with population below 1,000,000. In 2017, Wakayama is ranked 40th by population in Japan with a population of 944,320. In the 2020 census, close to 32% of the population was over 65 years of age - the highest percentage in Japan and one of the highest for national subdivisions worldwide.

Politics

Governor Shūhei Kishimoto was elected on 27 November 2022.

List of governors of Wakayama

State-appointed governors:
  • Masaomi Tsuda : from 25 November 1871 to 25 January 1872
  • Hidetomo Kitajima : from 25 January 1872 to 13 October 1873
  • Kunikiyo Kōyama : from 13 October 1873 to 20 October 1873
  • Kanae Matsumoto : from 20 October 1873 to 26 December 1889
  • Tadaakira Ishii : from 26 December 1889 to 9 April 1891
  • Sadaaki Senda : from 9 April 1891 to 15 January 1892
  • Morikata Oki : from 15 January 1892 to 7 April 1897
  • Kan'ichi Kubota : from 7 April 1897 to 8 October 1898
  • Masaaki Nomura : from 8 October 1898 to 7 April 1899
  • Hisashi Ogura : from 7 April 1899 to 25 October 1900
  • Shin'ichirō Tsubaki : from 25 October 1900 to 29 June 1903
  • Ienori Kiyosu : from 29 June 1903 to 11 January 1907
  • Takio Izawa : from 11 January 1907 to 30 July 1909
  • Chikaharu Kawakami : from 30 July 1909 to 4 September 1911
  • Takeji Kawamura : from 4 September 1911 to 9 June 1914
  • Kogorō Kanokogi : from June 1914 to 17 December 1917
  • Tokikazu Ikematsu : from 17 December 1917 to 3 February 1920
  • Shinzō Obara : from 3 February 1920 to 6 June 1923
  • Yoshibumi Satake : from 6 June 1923 to 24 June 1924
  • Kyūichi Hasegawa : from 24 June 1924 to 22 March 1927
  • Tokutarō Shimizu : from 22 March 1927 to 17 May 1927
  • Umekichi Miyawaki : from 17 May 1927 to 17 November 1927
  • Taeru Node : from 17 November 1927 to 5 July 1929
  • Senzō Tomobe : from 5 July 1929 to 26 August 1930
  • Toshikatsu Kurahara : from 26 August 1930 to 18 December 1931
  • Toshiki Karasawa : from 18 December 1931 to 28 July 1932
  • Ryōsaku Shimizu : from 28 July 1932 to 10 November 1934
  • Nagakazu Fujioka : from 10 November 1934 to 22 April 1936
  • Tokiji Yoshinaga : from 22 April 1936 to 11 January 1939
  • Shigeo Shimizu : from 11 January 1939 to 15 October 1940
  • Jirō Imamatsu : from 15 October 1940 to 20 October 1941
  • Seizō Hirose : from 20 October 1941 to 1 August 1944
  • Chiaki Kobayashi : from 1 August 1944 to 27 October 1945
  • Uichirō Koike : from 27 October 1945 to 25 January 1946
  • Masao Kanai : from 25 January 1946 to 8 July 1946
  • Wakichi Kawakami : from 8 July 1946 to 28 February 1947
  • Yoshimaro Takahashi : from 28 February 1947 to 15 April 1947
Publicly elected governors:
  • Shinji Ono : from 19 April 1947 to 22 April 1967
  • Masao Ohashi : from 23 April 1967 to 4 October 1975
  • Shiro Kariya : from 23 November 1975 to 22 November 1995
  • Isamu Nishiguchi : from 23 November 1995 to 13 July 2000
  • Yoshiki Kimura : from 3 September 2000 to 2 December 2006
  • Yoshinobu Nisaka : from 17 December 2006 to 16 December 2022
  • Shūhei Kishimoto : from 17 December 2022 to 15 April 2025
  • Izumi Miyazaki : from 15 April 2025 to present

Culture

Mount Kōya in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style Buddhist temples in Japan and remains a pilgrimage site and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain. The Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range extend for miles throughout the prefecture and together have been recognized as Japan's 11th UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Kumano Shrines are on the southern tip of the prefecture. Tomogashima is part of the prefecture.

Agriculture

Orange

Wakayama Prefecture ranks first in the production of oranges in Japan. Wakayama has its own brand of oranges, which is produced in Arida District and called 'Arida-Orange'. Arida District, where oranges have been produced for more than 400 years, yields about half of the orange crops in Wakayama today. Furthermore, the yield of Arida-Oranges accounts for about 10 percent of Japanese domestic production of oranges.

Chinese flowering plum (Ume)

According to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Wakayama stands first in the production of Chinese flowering plum, or ume in Japanese, in Japan. As of 2016, Wakayama made up about 70 percent of Japanese domestic production of ume.

International relations

Wakayama Prefecture has friendship and sister relationships with six places outside Japan:

Tourism

Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Nanki-Shirahama Onsen,, and Yunomine Onsen.

Transportation

Rail

Road

Expressway

  • Hanwa Expressway
  • Keinawa Expressway
  • Nachi Katsuura Road
  • Yuasa Gobo Road

National highways

  • Route 24
  • Route 26
  • Route 42
  • Route 168
  • Route 169
  • Route 311
  • Route 370
  • Route 371
  • Route 424

Ferry

Airport

However, Kansai International Airport in neighbouring Osaka Prefecture is also used by air travellers from the prefecture which more domestic and international destinations.

Education

Universities