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Iizuka 飯塚市
City
Iizuka City Hall
FlagEmblem
Location of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture
IizukaLocation in Japan
Coordinates: 33°38′48″N 130°41′28″E / 33.64667°N 130.69111°E / 33.64667; 130.69111
Country	Japan
Region	Kyushu
Prefecture	Fukuoka
Government
• Mayor	Morichika Saitō
Area
• Total	213.96 km (82.61 sq mi)
Population
• Total	124,757
• Density	580/km (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	5-5 Shintateiwa, Iizuka-shi, Fukuoka-ken 820-8501
Climate	Cfa
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Cosmos
Tree	Camphor Laurel

Iizuka (飯塚市, Iizuka-shi) is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 29 February 2024, the city had an estimated population of 124,757 in 63833 households, and a population density of 580 persons per km². The total area of the city is 213.96 km (82.61 sq mi).

Geography

Iizuka is the central city of the Chikuho region located in the center of Fukuoka Prefecture, approximately 35 kilometers east of Fukuoka City and approximately 40 kilometers southwest of the center of Kitakyushu City. The Onga River, a first-class river, flows through the central part of the city, and the area forms an urban area. From the northwestern part of the city to the western and southwestern parts of the city, there are mountains ranging in height from 400 to 900 meters, including Mt. Mikoriyama (935.9 meters) and Mt. Toishi (828 meters). There are also several mountains in the eastern part of the city that are between 200 and 300 meters high, forming a small mountain range. Therefore, the central and northern parts of the city are a basin surrounded by mountains. Yagiyama Pass and Shokegoe on the western edge of the city, and Hiyomizu Pass on the southern edge of the city were difficult areas for transportation until roads were developed.

Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture

• Chikushino
• Chikuzen
• Fukuchi
• Itoda
• Kama
• Keisen
• Kotake
• Miyawaka
• Nōgata
• Sasaguri
• Sue
• Tagawa
• Umi

Climate

Iizuka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Iizuka is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.0 °C. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much higher in summer than in winter.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Iizuka is as shown below

History

The area of Iizuka was part of ancient Chikuzen Province. Rice has been cultivated in the fertile alluvial plains of the Onga River system since the Yayoi Period, and ancient kofun are scattered throughout the area. During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Fukuoka Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the town of Iizuka was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Iizuka was raised to city status on January 20, 1932. On March 26, 2006, Iizuka absorbed the towns of Chikuho, Honami, Kaita and Shōnai (all from Kaho District) to create the new and expanded city of Iizuka.

Government

Iizuka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members. Iizuka, together with the town of Keisen contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 8th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō during the Edo Era. As Japan industrialised, Iizuka became the center of the most productive coal fields in Japan located throughout the surrounding Chikuho district. After the end of Second World War there was a large influx of people into the city as it was one of the few areas that offered a large number of jobs in the coal mines and related fields. Since the coal mines closed, Iizuka City has suffered from a consistently declining population base. However, its proximity to both Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City cushioned the effect of the coal industry shutdown and kept the local economy from going into freefall. Now Iizuka has a strong light industrial base and is a center for education and a rapidly expanding IT economy.

Education

Iizuka has 22 public elementary schools and 9 public junior high schools operated by the city government and one private elementary and one private junior high school. There are one public junior high school and two public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education, and also two private high schools. The prefecture also operates two schools for the handicapped. Kindai University has a junior college in Iizuka.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu - Chikuhō Main Line (Fukuhoku Yutaka Line)

JC - Tentō - Iizuka - Shin-Iizuka - Urata - Namazuta

JR Kyushu - Chikuhō Main Line (Haruda Line)

JG - Chikuzen-Uchino - Kami-Honami

JR Kyushu - Sasaguri Line

JC - Chikuzen-Daibu - Kurōbaru

JR Kyushu - Gotōji Line

JJ - Chikuzen-Shōnai - <Shimo-Kamoo> Kami-Mio - Shin-Iizuka

Highways

• National Route 200
• National Route 201
• National Route 211

Sister cities

• Sunnyvale, California, United States

Local attractions

• Chikuhō Coalfield Sites
• Daibu temple ruins, National Historic Site

Notable people from Iizuka

• Tarō Asō, former prime minister, was born in Iizuka and retains a large house in the city.
• Mika Hijii, actress, gravure idol
• Mari Shirato, actress
• Yumi Yoshino, actress

In popular culture

• Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara chose Iizuka as the setting for his film Pitfall which takes place in the coal mines. The film was a collaboration with the author of Pitfall, Kōbō Abe. Teshigahara stated in an interview that Iizuka closely resembled the landscape depicted in the novel.

See also

• Coto Coto Train, a touristic service

References

1. "Iizuka City official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
2. Iizuka climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
3. 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
4. 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
5. Kezra, Victoria (2016-07-07). "Sunnyvale gains a new sister city in Iizuka, Japan". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-10-25.

External links

• Iizuka City official website (in Japanese)
• Kyushu Institute of Technology Iizuka campus (in English)

v t e Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka (capital)
Fukuoka	Wards Higashi Hakata Chūō Minami Nishi Jōnan Sawara
Kitakyushu	Wards Moji Wakamatsu Tobata Kokurakita Kokuraminami Yahatahigashi Yahatanishi
Core city	Kurume
Cities	Asakura Buzen Chikugo Chikushino Dazaifu Fukutsu Iizuka Itoshima Kasuga Kama Koga Miyama Miyawaka Munakata Nakagawa Nakama Nōgata Ogōri Ōkawa Ōmuta Ōnojō Tagawa Ukiha Yame Yanagawa Yukuhashi
Districts	Asakura District Chikuzen Tōhō Chikujō District Chikujō Kōge Yoshitomi Kaho District Keisen Kasuya District Hisayama Kasuya Sasaguri Shime Shingū Sue Umi Kurate District Kotake Kurate Mii District Tachiarai Miyako District Kanda Miyako Mizuma District Ōki Onga District Ashiya Mizumaki Okagaki Onga Tagawa District Aka Fukuchi Itoda Kawara Kawasaki Ōtō Soeda Yame District Hirokawa
List of mergers in Fukuoka Prefecture

• Iizuka, Fukuoka
• Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture