Satsumasendai (薩摩川内市, Satsumasendai-shi) is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2024[update], the city had an estimated population of 90,918 in 46610 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 682.92 km2 (263.68 sq mi).
Satsumasendai is located in northwest Kagoshima Prefecture, about 40 kilometers northwest of Kagoshima City, and covers almost the entire area of the Sendai Plain, facing the East China Sea to the west. The urban center is located in the western part of the city about 10 kilometers inland from the coast. The Sendai River, which flows east to west through the city area, has the second largest drainage area in Kyushu. In the eastern part of the city area is Imuta Pond, which was designated designated a Ramsar site on November 8, 2005.
The entire area of the Koshikijima Islands, in the East China Sea about 40 kilometers west of the mainland, is also included in the boundaries of Satsumasendai. The islands are also part of the Koshikijima Quasi-National Park.
Satsumasendai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, and is heavier in summer, especially the months of June and July. The average annual temperature in Satsumasendai is 18.4 °C (65.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,429.7 mm (95.66 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.0 °C (82.4 °F), and lowest in January, at around 9.4 °C (48.9 °F).[3] Its record high is 37.5 °C (99.5 °F), reached on 19 August 2013, and its record low is −1.5 °C (29.3 °F), reached on 24 January 2016.[4]
Climate data for Sendai, Satsumasendai (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present)
Per Japanese census data, the population of Satsumasendai in 2020 is 92,403 people.[7] Satsumasendai's population has been declining slowly since the census began in 1950, although there was a brief recovery in the 1980s.
Satsumasendai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 26 members. Satsumasendai contributes three members to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kagoshima 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Satsumasendai has 26 public elementary schools, 13 public junior high schools and one public high school by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private combined middle/high school. The city is also home to Kagoshima Immaculate Heart University, founded in 1994, which has a small population of foreign students.
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