Kawasaki, Kanagawa

Japanese city
Name = Kawasaki City
JapaneseName = 川崎市
Island = Honshu
Region = Kantō
Prefecture = Kanagawa Prefecture
Area_km2 = 144.35
Population = 1,385,003
PopDate = May 2008
Density_km2 = 9465
Postal code = 2xx-xxxx
Area code = 044
Mayor = Takao Abe
Coords =
LatitudeDegrees = 35
LatitudeMinutes = 31
LatitudeSeconds =
LongtitudeDegrees = 139
LongtitudeMinutes = 42
LongtitudeSeconds =
Tree = Camellia
Flower = Azalea
Bird =
Symbol

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SymbolDescription = Flag
CityHallPostalCode = 210-8577
CityHallAddress = Kawasaki-shi,
Kawasaki-ku, Miyamoto-cho 1
CityHallPhone = 044-200-2111
CityHallLink = [http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/index_e.htm Kawasaki City]
City

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Elevation =nihongo|Kawasaki|川崎市|Kawasaki-shi is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 8th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area.

Kawasaki occupies a belt of land stretching about 30 km along the south bank of the Tama River, which divides it from Tokyo. The eastern end of the belt, centered around JR Kawasaki Station, is flat and largely consists of industrial zones and densely built working-class housing. The coastline of Tokyo Bay is occupied by vast heavy industrial complexes built on reclaimed land.

The western area of Kawasaki, also known as the Tama Hills, largely consists of newly developed residential areas which are connected to Tokyo by the Odakyū Odawara Line and Tokyu Denentoshi Line. The area also houses several university campuses, suburban commercial developments and light industrial complexes.

History

The region was originally part of Musashi Province alongside Edo (now Tokyo), unlike Yokohama which was part of Sagami Province. During the Heian period Kawasaki was under the control of the Inage clan, and during the Kamakura period it was under the control of the late Hojo clan.

Kawasaki gained increased political importance during the Edo period as a stop for travelers on the Tokaido between Edo and points west. In the early Meiji era Japan's first railroad, the Tokaido Main Line, was built along the Tokaido route through eastern Kawasaki, spurring the area's growth as an industrial center.

Under Japan's first local government law enacted in 1899, eastern Kawasaki was designated as a town while the remainder of the present-day city was incorporated as twelve villages, two of them within the jurisdiction of Tokyo Prefecture. Kawasaki City was founded on July 1, 1924 by the merger of two towns and one village surrounding Kawasaki Station, and was expanded to its current size in 1939 (except for certain offshore areas which were reclaimed later).

Much of Kawasaki's industrial infrastructure was destroyed by American bombings in 1945, but the city rebounded following the war, especially in its western residential areas. Kawasaki became a designated city on April 1, 1972 and was divided into five wards, two of which were further subdivided in 1982 for a total of seven wards.

Wards

Kawasaki has seven wards ("ku"):
* Asao-ku
* Kawasaki-ku
* Miyamae-ku
* Nakahara-ku
* Saiwai-ku
* Takatsu-ku
* Tama-ku

Demographics

As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 1,385,003 and the density of 9,465 persons per km², 9th most populous in Japan. The total area is 144.35 km². Area is constantly expanded due to construction of artificial islands in Tokyo Bay, though very little of the expanded zone is used for housing. Its population has risen dramatically in the 20th century. Kawasaki Town recorded 21,391 people in 1920 Census (#46 in Japan), but by 1930 it was the 19th largest at 104,351 people, and by 1970 the population had risen to was 973,000 at 9th place, the same as today.ÆÎ

Politics and government

Kawasaki is governed by mayor Takao Abe, an independent supported by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. The city assembly has 63 elected members.

Elections

* Kawasaki mayoral election, 2005

ports

Facilities

Baseball

* Kawasaki Stadium: Located in Kawasaki-ku. Opened in 1952, and was used as a home field for professional baseball teams (see below) from 1954 to 1991. The stands were taken down in 2001, and is currently used for American football games and other events in addition to baseball.
* Kawasaki Todoroki Baseball Stadium: Located in Nakahara-ku. Maximum capacity of 5,000 people. Used for preliminary rounds of high school baseball and American football games.

Field athletics & soccer

* 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 the Kawasaki Frontale. Also used frequently for track & field competitions.

Golf

* Kawasaki International Golf Course: Located in Tama-ku. Opened in 1952 as Kawasaki International Country Club. Became a public course in 1992.

Indoor facilities

* Kawasaki Prefectural Gymnasium: Located in Kawasaki-ku. Opened in 1956, and is used for Puroresu matches. 20 minutes walking distance from Kawasaki Station's east entrance.
* Kawasaki Todoroki Arena: Located in Nakahara-ku. International field athletics and volleyball matches are held here, in addition to various musical concerts.

Cycling & horseracing

* [http://www.kawasakikeirin.com/ Kawasaki Keirin]
* [http://www.nankankeiba.com/dirt4.kawasaki/jbc/index.html Kawasaki Keiba]

Professional sports

Nippon Professional Baseball

The first professional baseball team in Kawasaki were the Mainichi Orions, who used Kawasaki Stadium as their secondary homefield when the stadium was opened in 1952. The first official team to declare Kawasaki their home were the Takahashi Unions, established in 1954 as the eighth team in the Pacific League. The team was created from beer manufacturer Ryutaro Takahashi's own pocket money, and was mostly made up of players who had been cut from other teams, resulting in poor finishes each year. The team ended up becoming a huge financial mess, and was merged with the Taiei Stars team before the start of the 1957 season.

In 1955, the Taiyo Whales (current Yokohama BayStars) moved from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi to Kawasaki, becoming the second professional baseball team to call Kawasaki home. The Whales team saw increased attendance at home games, but failed to make any impact in the standings until 1960, when the team won the pennant and swept the Pacific League champions in the Japan Series. The team went on to place a close second behind the Hanshin Tigers in 1964, but quickly dropped down into obscurity in the standings afterwards.

In 1978, the Taiyo Whales relocated to the newly erected Yokohama Stadium, overriding protest from Kawasaki citizens. The Lotte Orions (current Chiba Lotte Marines) had wanted a home stadium located near Tokyo (the Lotte team was based in Tokyo, but played most of their games in Sendai), and moved in the same year. The team saw low attendance, but Kawasaki Stadium was the site for several important records in Japanese baseball history, including Isao Harimoto's 3,000th hit, Hiromitsu Ochiai's consecutive triple crowns from 1984 to 1985, and the dramatic league championship game on October 19, 1988 against the Kintetsu Buffaloes. However, Lotte moved away to Chiba Marine Stadium in 1992, becoming the third and last professional baseball team to be based in Kawasaki.

In research conducted in the aftermath of the Great Hanshin earthquake, it was discovered that Kawasaki Stadium would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 5. The stadium's stands were taken down, dimming any chances of it being used as a home field once again. The last professional game held at Kawasaki Stadium was a pre-season game between the Yokohama BayStars and Chiba Lotte Marines. Todoroki Baseball Stadium is also located in Kawasaki, but lack of equipment prevents it from being used in professional games.

J. League

Before the start of the J. League, there were several former Japan Soccer League teams already playing in the Kawasaki region. At the formation of the J. League in 1993, they refused to be merged into one team, resulting in Yomiuri Shimbun's football club becoming the professional football team of Kawasaki. Yomiuri had originally wanted to be based in Tokyo, but lack of adequate stadiums there forced them to hold most of their games in Todoroki Athletics Stadium.

The team was renamed to Verdy Kawasaki, and became the season champions for the first two seasons of J. League. The team enjoyed massive popularity, having star players such as Kazuyoshi Miura and Ruy Ramos. However, the city did very little to improve the sorry state of the team's home stadium until protest from citizens forced them to fix up the field. It took two years for the stadium to be expanded to a J. League regulation-size (25,000 capacity) stadium.

The former JSL teams in Kawasaki (Toshiba, NKK) were either disbanded or moved to other cities, and Verdy Kawasaki moved to Tokyo Stadium in 2000 to become Tokyo Verdy 1969 and leave Kawasaki without a J1 (J. League division 1) soccer team. Kawasaki Frontale, formed in 1997 from Fujitsu's old JSL team, was demoted to J2 in 2001, but returned to J1 in 2004. Frontale aims to reinforce its ties with the city through avid participation in community events.

Transportation

Only one railway line links the east and western ends of Kawasaki city (JR Nambu Line), whereas a multitude of train lines traverse the city north to south, making access to central Tokyo much more convenient than travel within Kawasaki itself. A subway line is planned between Kawasaki station in the east and Shin-Yurigaoka in the west.

Major transit points are Musashi-Mizonokuchi Station, Musashi-Kosugi Station, Kawasaki Station area, and Shin-Yurigaoka Station.

The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a bridge-tunnel across Tokyo Bay, connects Kawasaki and the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture.

Kawasaki city operates Municipal City Buses.

Education

Kawasaki operates public elementary and junior high schools.

The public high schools in Kawasaki are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.

Places of interest

* Kawasaki Daishi: the second most visited temple in the Kantō area.
* Nihon Minka-en: a park with a collection of 20 "minka", or traditional farmhouses, from various areas in Japan.
* Koreatown: eastern Kawasaki has the second largest concentration of Koreans in Japan after Osaka. In 1997 it became the first municipality to allow non-Japanese nationals to take civil service employment.

Industries

Kawasaki has several factories and development bases of the companies of heavy industry (e.g., JFE Group, Nippon Oil Corporation) and high technology (Fujitsu, NEC Corporation, Toshiba, and Dell Japan).

Twin cities

Japan

* Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido since July 9, 1992
* Fujimi, Nagano since April 22, 1993
* Naha, Okinawa since May 20, 1996

International

* Rijeka, Croatia since June 23, 1977
* Baltimore, USA since June 14, 1979
* Shenyang, China since August 18, 1981
* Wollongong, Australia since May 18, 1988
* Sheffield, United Kingdom since July 30, 1990
* Salzburg, Austria since April 17, 1992
* Lübeck, Germany since May 12, 1992
* Bucheon, Korea since October 21, 1996

Friendship ports

* Da Nang, Vietnam since January 24, 1994

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External links

* [http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/index_e.htm Official website]
* [http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/ Official website]
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