Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka-ken ; 福岡県
Basic data
Administrative headquarters :	Fukuoka
Region :	Kyushu
Main island :	Kyushu
Area :	4,986.51 km²
Residents :	5,110,113 ; (October 1, 2019)
Population density :	1025 inhabitants per km²
Counties :	11
Municipalities :	58
ISO 3166-2 :	JP-40
Governor :	Hiroshi Ogawa
Website:	www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp
Symbols
Prefecture flag :
Prefecture tree :	azalea
Prefecture flower :	Ume
Vogel prefecture :	Japanese Bush Warbler
Prefecture song :	Kibō no hikari; ("glimmer of hope")

The Fukuoka prefecture ( Jap. 福岡県 , Fukuoka-ken ) is a prefecture of Japan . It is located in the Kyushu region on the island of Kyushu. The seat of the prefecture administration is the city of the same name Fukuoka .

Shrines, ruins

The Sumiyoshi Shrine is dedicated to the three Sumiyoshi-Kami , the protective deities of the seafarers, and is one of the oldest shrines in Kyūshū. The current buildings date from 1623.

Sofuku-ji is the oldest Rinzai-shū temple in Japan, said to have been founded by Eisai in 1195, who brought the teachings of Zen and tea to Japan after his return from China . The temple has a Korean style bronze bell.

The Hakozaki Shrine is located in the eastern part of the city of Fukuoka and is a sanctuary of the god of war Hachiman founded in 923 . The two-storey gate tower dates from 1594, haiden and honden from 1609 were built in wood without the use of iron parts. In the forecourt there are stone anchors from the Mongol invasions .

The Ohori Park in the western part of the city contains the former "castle of the dancing cranes", Maizuru-jō of the Kuroda. However, only a small part (gate, outer tower) has been preserved.

Festivals

Hakata-dontaku, on 3rd / 4th May, originally a New Year's custom, there is a procession with various costumed groups.
Gion-yamakasa on July 1st to 15th the festival of the Kushida Shrine takes place, with a procession of decorated floats on the last day.
Tamaseri is at the Hakozaki Shrine on January 3rd, when a few (half-naked) boys are fighting for possession of a wooden ball that is offered after the shrine deity's victory.

politics

Group strengths in the prefecture parliament
(as of July 12, 2019)

A total of 87 seats

Jimintō kengidan (~ " LDP -Präf.parl.gruppe"): 39
Minshu kensei kengidan (~ "Pref. Parl. Group [for] democratic prefectural politics"; with KDP , DVP , SDP ): 22
Kōmeitō : 10
Ryokuyūkai ( 緑友会 ; with LDP & Farmers Association): 9
KPY : 2
Five other factions: 5

The governor and prefectural parliament of Fukuoka were re-elected at the same time in the 2019 unified regional elections. Governor Hiroshi Ogawa was sovereignly re-elected for a third term against an official candidate of the LDP , but with the support of parts of the LDP Fukuoka (the prefectural association of Tarō Asō ), which had repeatedly fallen out in recent years . In the prefectural parliament, the LDP remained by far the strongest party with 40 of the 87 seats, but is spread over several parliamentary groups.

In the national parliament , Fukuoka is represented by eleven directly elected members in the lower house and six in the upper house . The eleven lower house constituencies elected eleven Liberal Democrats unchanged in 2017 . In the general election of 2014 in Fukuoka, the case, which has become rare since the introduction of single-mandate constituencies, occurred in which two candidates from one party competed against each other: In constituency 1, the LDP could not agree on a candidate, so that two LDP candidates, both without formal party nomination, competed; the opposition could still not win, and the winner was subsequently nominated retrospectively by the LDP. Since 2016, the prefecture has been represented in the upper house by three MPs per partial election. After the elections in 2016 , 2019 and party changes since then (as of August 2019) two Liberal Democrats, two Kōmeitō MPs and one member each from DVP and KDP for Fukuoka are in the upper house.

Administrative division

Since October 1, 2018 (upgrading of Nakagawa from a district to an independent city), there are 29 independent cities ( -shi ) , 29 county-level cities ( -machi / -chō ) and two villages ( -mura ) in Fukuoka. The district communities are organized in eleven districts.
Three of the independent cities have a special status :

Seirei shitei toshi (government-designated cities)
- Fukuoka - since April 1, 1972, also the seat of the prefecture administration
- Kitakyushu - since April 1, 1963
Chūkakushi ("core cities")
- Kurume - since April 1, 2008

In the table below, the districts ( Gun ) are shown in italics, underneath each (indented) the cities and villages belonging to the district. A dependency between the regional authority key introduced in the 1960s and the districts that were abolished as regional authorities in the 1920s can be seen from the code: For geographical and statistical purposes, the -gun were also assigned keys by some authorities that are divisible by 20 Municipalities follow with consecutive numbers; Gaps arose as a result of later territorial reforms; after the Great Heisei territorial reform of the early 21st century, quite a few Japanese districts consist of just one municipality, including several districts of Fukuoka. The first two digits stand for the prefecture (-to / -dō / -fu / -ken) , Fukuoka is JP-40. The independent cities are at the beginning of the table.

code	Surname		Area (in km²)	population	Population density (inh / km²)
code	Latin / "Roman"	Japanese	1st October 2019	1st October 2019	10/01/2015
40100	Kitakyūshū- shi ("City of North Kyūshū")	北九州市	491.69	940.141	961.286	1,954.03
40130	Fukuoka- shi ("Fukuoka City")	福岡市	343.46	1,592,657	1,538,681	4,480.86
40202	Ōmuta- shi	大牟田市	81.45	111,562	117,360	1,440.88
40203	Kurume- shi	久留米市	229.96	303.246	304,552	1,324.37
40204	Nogata- shi	直方市	61.76	55,937	57,146	925.29
40205	Iizuka- shi	飯塚市	213.96	126,715	129,146	603.29
40206	Tagawa- shi	田川市	54.55	46,611	48,441	888.01
40207	Yanagawa- shi	柳川市	77.15	64,705	67,777	878.51
40210	Yame- shi	八女市	482.44	61.097	64,408	133.50
40211	Chikugo- shi	筑後市	41.78	48,752	48,339	1,156.99
40212	Ōkawa- shi	大川市	33.62	33,072	34,838	1,036.23
40213	Yukuhashi- shi	行橋市	70.06	71.101	70,586	1,007.51
40214	Buzen- shi ("City of Buzen ")	豊前市	111.01	24,666	2,594	23.35
40215	Nakama- shi	中間市	15.96	40.003	41,796	2,618.80
40216	Ogōri- shi	小郡市	45.51	58,517	57,983	1,274.07
40217	Chikushino- shi	筑紫野市	87.73	102,624	101,081	1,152.18
40218	Kasuga- shi	春日市	14.15	111.143	110,743	7,826.36
40219	Ōnojō -shi ("City of Castle Ōno ")	大野城市	26.89	101.017	99,525	3,701.19
40220	Munakata- shi	宗像市	119.94	96,886	96,516	804.84
40221	Dazaifu- shi	太宰府市	29.6	72,313	72,168	2,438.11
40223	Koga- shi	古賀市	42.07	59.111	57,959	1,377.68
40224	Fukutsu- shi	福津市	52.76	64,763	58,781	1,114.12
40225	Ukiha -shi	うきは市	117.46	27,821	29,509	251.23
40226	Miyawaka- shi	宮若市	139.99	27,182	28,112	200.81
40227	Kama- shi	嘉麻市	135.11	35,929	38,743	286.75
40228	Asakura- shi	朝倉市	246.71	49,894	52,444	212.57
40229	Miyama- shi	みやま市	105.21	36,214	38,139	362.50
40230	Itoshima- shi	糸島市	215.7	98.187	96,475	447.26
40231	Nakagawa- shi	那珂川市	74.95	50.204	50.004	667.16
40340	Kasuya-gun ("Kasuya County")	糟屋郡	164.64		225,585	1,370.17
40341	Umi- machi	宇美町	30.21	37,609	37,927	1,255.45
40342	Sasaguri- machi	篠栗町	38.93	30,886	31.210	801.70
40343	Shime- machi	志免町	8.69	45,918	45,256	5,207.83
40344	Sue- machi	須恵町	16.31	28,377	27,263	1,671.55
40345	Shingu- machi	新宮町	18.93	32,691	30,344	1,602.96
40348	Hisayama -machi	久山町	37.44	8902	8,225	219.68
40349	Kasuya- machi ("Kasuya City")	粕屋町	14.13	47,554	45,360	3,210.19
40380	Onga-gun	遠賀郡	93.4		93,662	1,002.81
40381	Ashiya- machi	芦屋町	11.6	13,547	14,208	1,224.83
40382	Mizumaki -machi	水巻町	11.01	28.002	28,997	2,633.70
40383	Okagaki -machi	岡垣町	48.64	30,929	31,580	649.26
40384	Onga -chō	遠賀町	22.15	18,800	18,877	852.23
40400	Curate gun	鞍手郡	49.88		23,817	478.45
40401	Kotake- machi	小竹町	14.28	7232	7,810	550.78
40402	Curate- machi	鞍手町	35.6	15,159	16.007	449.63
40420	Kaho-gun	嘉穂郡	20.14		13,496	670.11
40421	Keisen- machi	桂川町	20.14	12,936	13,496	670.11
40440	Asakura gun	朝倉郡	119.06		31,480	264.38
40447	Chikuzen- machi ("City of Chikuzen ")	筑前町	67.1	29,473	29,306	436.75
40448	Tōhō -mura	東峰村	51.97	1947	2.174	41.83
40500	Mii-gun	三井郡	22.84		15,138	662.78
40503	Tachiarai- machi	大刀洗町	22.84	15,274	15,138	662.78
40520	Mizuma-gun	三潴郡	18.44		14,176	768.76
40522	Ōki- machi	大木町	18.44	13,932	14,176	768.76
40540	Yame-gun	八女郡	37.94		20.183	531.97
40544	Hirokawa- machi	広川町	37.94	19,873	20.183	531.97
40600	Tagawa-gun	田川郡	309.18		77,663	251.19
40601	Kawara- machi	香春町	44.5	10,099	10,861	244.07
40602	Soeda- machi	添田町	132.2	9049	9,924	75.07
40604	Itoda- machi	糸田町	8.04	8598	9,020	1,121.89
40605	Kawasaki- machi	川崎町	36.14	15,370	16,789	464.55
40608	Ōtō- machi	大任町	36.14	5083	5,176	362.97
40609	Aka- mura	赤村	31.98	2836	3,022	94.50
40610	Fukuchi- machi	福智町	42.06	21,641	22,871	543.77
40620	Miyako-gun	京都郡	200.59		55.206	275.59
40621	Kanda- machi	苅田町	49.24	36,280	34,963	713.82
40625	Miyako- machi	みやこ町	151.34	18,934	20,243	133.76
40640	Chikujō-gun	築上郡	187.77		32,672	174.00
40642	Yoshitomi- machi	吉富町	5.72	6540	6,627	1,158.57
40646	Kōge- machi	上毛町	62.44	7216	7,458	119.44
40647	Chikujō- machi	築上町	119.61	17,356	18,587	155.40
40,000 JP-40	Fukuoka-ken ("Fukuoka Prefecture")	福岡県	4,986.51	5,110,113	5,101,556	1,023.07

Largest independent cities

-shi / year of the census	Residents
2015	2010	2005	2000
Fukuoka	1,538,681	1,463,743	1,401,279	1,341,470
Kitakyushu	961.286	976.846	993.525	1,011,471
Kurume	304,552	302.402	306.434	236,543
Iizuka	129,146	131,492	79,365	80,651
Ōmuta	117,360	123,638	131,090	138,629
Kasuga	110,743	106,780	108.402	105.219
Chikushino	101,081	100.172	97,571	93,049
Ōnojō	99,525	95,087	92,748	89,414
Munakata	96,516	95.501	94.148	81,588
Itoshima	96,475	98,435	——	——
Dazaifu	72,168	70,482	67,087	66,099
Yukuhashi	70,586	70,468	70.070	69,737
Yanagawa	67,777	71,375	74,539	41,815
Yame	64,408	69,057	38,951	39,610
Fukutsu	58,781	55,431	55,677	——
Ogōri	57,983	58,499	57,481	54,583
Koga	57,959	57,920	55,943	55,476
Nogata	57,146	57,686	57,497	59,182
Asakura	52,444	56,355	——	——
Tagawa	48,441	50,605	51,534	54,027
Chikugo	48,339	48,512	47,844	47,348
Nakama	41,796	44.210	46,560	48.032
Kama	38,743	42,589	——	——
Miyama	38,139	40,732	——	——
Okawa	34,838	37,448	39.213	41,338
Ukiha	29,509	31,640	32.902	——
Miyawaka	28,112	30,081	——	——
Buzen	25,940	27,031	28,104	29,133
Maebaru	——	——	67.275	63,883
Amagi	——	——	41,674	42,643
Yamada	——	——	11,034	11,686

January 24, 2005: Merger of two parishes to form Fukutsu City .
March 20, 2005: The community of Ukiha swallows another community and is elevated to an independent city.
February 11, 2006: Two parishes merge to form Miyakawa City .
March 20, 2006: The community of Asakura incorporates the city of Amagi and is raised to the status of an independent city.
March 27, 2006: The city of Yamada and 3 other parishes form the new city of Kama .
January 29, 2007: 3 communities merge to form the new city of Miyama .
January 1, 2010: The city of Maebaru and 2 other parishes form the new city of Itoshima .

Population development in the prefecture

Census population
Census year	Total population	male population	female population	Gender ratio men to 1000 women	Area in km ²	Population density per km ²
1920	2,188,249	1,116,818	1,071,431	1042	4939.94	443.0
1925	2,301,668	1,166,165	1,135,503	1027	4939.94	465.9
1930	2,527,119	1,280,624	1,246,495	1027	4939.65	511.6
1935	2,755,804	1,392,799	1,363,005	1022	4939.70	557.9
1940	3,094,132	1,577,063	1,517,069	1040	4939.70	626.4
1945	2,746,855	1,304,677	1,442,178	905	4939.70	556.1
1950	3,530,169	1,745,606	1,784,563	978	4906.35	719.5
1955	3,859,764	1,895,365	1,964,399	965	4900.77	787.6
1960	4,006,679	1,954,636	2,052,043	953	4900.77	817.6
1965	3,964,611	1,911,317	2,053,294	931	4911.16	807.3
1970	4,027,416	1,932,033	2,095,383	922	4922.28	818.2
1975	4,292,963	2,070,190	2,222,773	931	4946.45	867.9
1980	4,553,461	2,200,450	2,353,011	935	4954.03	919.1
1985	4,719,259	2,270,496	2,448,763	927	4959.62	951.5
1990	4,811,050	2,303,487	2,507,563	919	4965.58	968.9
1995	4,933,393	2,357,525	2,575,868	915	4967.64	993.1
2000	5,015,699	2,388,824	2,626,875	909	4971.01	1009.0
2005	5,049,908	2,394,094	2,655,814	902	4976.12	1014.8
2010	5,071,968	2,393,965	2,678,003	894	4977.24	1019.0
2015	5,101,556	2,410,418	2,691,138	896	4986.4	1023.1