Kumamoto熊本市
Kumamoto-shi. The name ends in 市 (shi), the word for city.
Kumamoto (熊本市, Kumamoto-shi) is a city and a designated city with 5 wards in Kumamoto Prefecture. Population 738,865 (2020 census), area 390.32 km². Borders 12 places.
An ordinance-designated city (政令指定都市 / seirei shitei toshi). Designated status lets a city take over services a prefecture would normally provide, and requires it to be divided into administrative wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments of their own.
The city is one municipality. Its wards are internal divisions: voters in every ward elect the same mayor.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 熊本市
- Reading
- Kumamoto-shi
- Kind
- City (市), designated city (政令指定都市): a local government
- Prefecture
- Kumamoto 熊本県
- Region
- Kyūshū-Okinawa 九州・沖縄
- Population
- 738,865 (2020 census)
- Change since 2015
- -0.3% from 740,822
- Area
- 390.32 km²
- Density
- 1,893 people per km²
- Households
- 326,920
- Under 15
- 13.5%
- 65 and over
- 26.4%
- Foreign residents
- 6,669 (0.9%)
- Code
- 43100 (団体コード, the municipality code)
- Website
- www.city.kumamoto.jp
- Wikipedia
- English / 日本語
The 5 wards of Kumamoto行政区
Kumamoto is a designated city, so it is divided into wards. Each ward has an office for counter services, and none has a mayor or an assembly. Voters in every ward elect the same city mayor.
| Ward | Population | km² |
|---|---|---|
| Chuo Ward中央区 | 187,502 | 25.45 |
| Higashi Ward東区 | 189,524 | 50.19 |
| Nishi Ward西区 | 91,177 | 89.33 |
| Minami Ward南区 | 130,829 | 110.01 |
| Kita Ward北区 | 139,833 | 115.34 |
Neighbouring municipalities
12 places share a land border with Kumamoto, counted through its wards. Borders across water are not counted.
Questions about Kumamoto
- Is Kumamoto a city or a prefecture?
- Kumamoto (熊本市) is a city (市, shi) in Kumamoto Prefecture. It is a municipality, the lower of Japan's two tiers of local government, and elects its own mayor and assembly. It is a designated city, divided into 5 wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments. Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県) is the larger unit around it. On its own, the name usually means the city.
- Where is Kumamoto?
- Kumamoto is in Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県), in the Kyūshū-Okinawa region of Japan. The prefecture is a government; the region is a customary grouping of prefectures and elects nothing.
- What is the population of Kumamoto?
- 738,865 at the 2020 census, down 0.3% from 740,822 in 2015. The area is 390.32 km², which is 1,893 people per km². 326,920 households. 26.4% of residents are 65 or older and 13.5% are under 15.
- Which municipalities border Kumamoto?
- 12: Tamana City (玉名市), Yamaga City (山鹿市), Kikuchi City (菊池市), Uto City (宇土市), Uki City (宇城市), Koshi City (合志市), Gyokuto Town (玉東町), Kikuyo Town (菊陽町), Mifune Town (御船町), Kashima Town (嘉島町), Mashiki Town (益城町), and Kosa Town (甲佐町). These are the municipalities that share a land border with Kumamoto in the boundary data. Borders across water are not counted.
- How is Kumamoto written in Japanese?
- 熊本市, read Kumamoto-shi. The last character, 市 (shi), is the word for city, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Kumamoto begin?
- 熊本県熊本市… (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, …). The prefecture name is written first, then the city name. Then the name of one of the 5 wards. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
Boundaries and neighbours: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population, households, and age groups: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Website and Wikipedia links: Wikidata.