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Yokkaichi

四日市市
Yokkaichi 四日市市
Special city
	Yokkaichi Port Building and Yokkaichi Port
Hureai mall	Yokkaichi Municipal Museum
Yokkaichi kombinat	Yokkaichi-Tonteki
	Yokkaichi City skyline
	Flag Seal
	Location of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture
	Yokkaichi
	Coordinates: 34°57′54.1″N 136°37′27.9″E / 34.965028°N 136.624417°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Mie
Government
• Mayor	Tomohiro Mori
Area
• Total	206.44 km2 (79.71 sq mi)
Population (August 2021)
• Total	310,259
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	059-354-8244
Address	1-5 Suwa-chō, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie-ken 510-8601
Climate	Cfa
Website	Official website
Symbols
Bird	Black-headed gull
Flower	Salvia splendens
Tree	Cinnamomum camphora

Yokkaichi (四日市市, Yokkaichi-shi) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2021^[update], the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km².^[1] The total area of the city is 206.44 square kilometres (79.71 sq mi).

Geography

Yokkaichi is located in the north-central of Mie Prefecture, part of the northeastern Kii Peninsula. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by Ise Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Shiga Prefecture to the northwest.

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

Kōka

Climate

Yokkaichi has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yokkaichi is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,807.3 mm (71.15 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C (80.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.3 °C (39.7 °F).^[2]

Climate data for Yokkaichi (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1966−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	19.9 (67.8)	22.2 (72.0)	24.5 (76.1)	29.5 (85.1)	33.1 (91.6)	35.4 (95.7)	37.9 (100.2)	38.8 (101.8)	36.9 (98.4)	31.5 (88.7)	24.8 (76.6)	21.9 (71.4)	38.8 (101.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	9.0 (48.2)	10.0 (50.0)	13.3 (55.9)	18.7 (65.7)	23.2 (73.8)	26.1 (79.0)	29.9 (85.8)	31.4 (88.5)	27.7 (81.9)	22.4 (72.3)	17.0 (62.6)	11.5 (52.7)	20.0 (68.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.3 (39.7)	4.9 (40.8)	8.1 (46.6)	13.3 (55.9)	18.0 (64.4)	21.7 (71.1)	25.6 (78.1)	26.8 (80.2)	23.2 (73.8)	17.5 (63.5)	11.8 (53.2)	6.6 (43.9)	15.2 (59.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−0.1 (31.8)	0.0 (32.0)	2.9 (37.2)	7.9 (46.2)	13.0 (55.4)	17.8 (64.0)	22.2 (72.0)	23.2 (73.8)	19.4 (66.9)	13.0 (55.4)	7.1 (44.8)	2.0 (35.6)	10.7 (51.3)
Record low °C (°F)	−6.0 (21.2)	−6.3 (20.7)	−4.6 (23.7)	−1.1 (30.0)	3.8 (38.8)	9.8 (49.6)	13.7 (56.7)	15.8 (60.4)	9.7 (49.5)	2.2 (36.0)	−1.0 (30.2)	−5.6 (21.9)	−6.3 (20.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	55.5 (2.19)	67.2 (2.65)	117.8 (4.64)	153.7 (6.05)	189.3 (7.45)	249.0 (9.80)	208.0 (8.19)	158.8 (6.25)	286.9 (11.30)	182.9 (7.20)	79.7 (3.14)	58.5 (2.30)	1,807.3 (71.15)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)	5.9	7.2	9.2	9.2	9.9	12.3	11.7	8.9	11.5	9.4	6.1	6.4	107.7
Average snowy days	10.0	8.9	4.3	0.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	5.3	29
Average relative humidity (%)	68	67	65	67	73	79	83	79	80	75	74	71	73
Mean monthly sunshine hours	152.2	149.5	181.7	189.8	194.2	147.9	162.4	196.2	151.8	153.9	156.8	151.6	1,988
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency^[3]^[2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[4] the population of Yokkaichi has increased steadily over the past 60 years.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1960	206,379	—
1970	241,409	+17.0%
1980	266,756	+10.5%
1990	285,015	+6.8%
2000	302,102	+6.0%
2010	307,807	+1.9%

History

The area around modern Yokkaichi has been settled since prehistoric times. Numerous Kofun period burial mounds have been discovered, and the area was one of the battle sites of the Asuka period Jinshin War. However, until the end of the Heian period, the area was sparsely settled, and the site of Yokkaichi was only a small port village. The area developed during the Kamakura period and by the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the port was developed and a regular market was opened on the 4th, 14th, and 24th day each month. Thus, the city is named Yokkaichi: "yokka" means fourth day, and "ichi" means market. After the Honnō-ji Incident during which warlord Oda Nobunaga was assassinated, Tokugawa Ieyasu fled from Yokkaichi port by sea to his castle at Edo. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Yokkaichi was tenryō territory controlled directly by the shōgun and administered by a daikan based at the Yokkaichi Jin'ya. Throughout the Edo period, the area prospered as Yokkaichi-juku, the forty-third station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. However, the city was largely destroyed by the Ansei great earthquakes.

Following the Meiji Restoration, Yokkaichi Town was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, and was designated the capital of Mie Prefecture. Yokkaichi's port advanced remarkably during the Meiji period, primarily under the guidance of Inaba Sanuemon, a resident merchant interested in increasing trade in the Yokkaichi and Ise area by modernizing the port facilities. Starting in 1872, the project took 12 years to complete due to typhoons and difficulties in financing the project. This led to the port city being designated an Official International Port in 1899^[5] The primary trade items shipped through Yokkaichi were originally seed oil, Banko ware, and Ise tea; but now it has developed into a port that handles cotton, wool, glass, and heavy equipment. Yokkaichi was elevated to city status on August 1, 1897.

From 1939, Yokkaichi became a center for the chemical industry, with the Imperial Japanese Navy constructing a large refinery near the port area. Yokkaichi was one of the first cities bombed by the United States during World War II, when on April 18, 1942, the city was attacked by aircraft from the Doolittle Raid. During the final stages of World War II, on June 18, 1945, 89 B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped 11,000 incendiary bombs destroying 35% of the urban area and killing 736 people. This attack on Yokkaichi was followed by another eight air raids until August 8, 1945, killing another 808 people.

From 1960 to 1972, the city residents suffered health problems caused by the emission of SOx into the atmosphere from local petrochemical and chemical plants. In Japan, a disease called Yokkaichi zensoku (Yokkaichi asthma) derives its name from the city, and it is considered one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.

Yokkaichi attained special city status on November 1, 2000, with increased local autonomy.

On February 7, 2005, the town of Kusu (from Mie District) was merged into Yokkaichi.

Government

Yokkaichi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Yokkaichi contributes seven members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Mie 2nd district and Mie 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Yokkaichi is a manufacturing center that produces Banko ware (a kind of earthenware and stoneware),^[6] automobiles, cotton textiles, chemicals, tea, cement, and computer parts such as flash memory by Kioxia and Western Digital.

Education

Universities

Primary and secondary education

Yokkaichi has 38 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and there are three private middle schools. The city also operates one special education school for the disabled. The city has ten public high schools operated by the Mie Prefectural Board of Education and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the disabled.