Kimitsu

The area along Tokyo Bay is in the Kimitsu district of Kisarazu Port, and it is a heavy industrial area centered around Nippon Steel (formerly Yahata Steel and Nippon Steel). The city area is mostly located along the coast around Kimitsu Station. In the inland Kururi area, the JR Kururi Line runs through, and it was a castle town of the Kururi Domain during the Edo period, with historical streets remaining.

Underground water from the Kiyosumi and Mitsuishi mountain ranges was selected as one of the "Top 100 Famous Waters of Heisei" and is known as the "Living Water of Kururi." Kururi is the top producer in Japan of kallos (wetland plants) using the spring water.

In the late 1960s, about 20,000 people from Kyushu moved to the area when the Yahata Steel factory opened. This is known as the "Great Migration," and Kyushu culture remains in many parts of the region.

Kimitsu is located in the southwestern part of Chiba Prefecture, about 35 kilometers from the prefectural capital, Chiba, and 40 to 50 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The northwestern part of the city faces Tokyo Bay and forms a part of the expansive Keiyo Industrial Zone. The inland area is lined with mountains in the Bōsō hills. The city area is the second-largest in Chiba Prefecture after Ichihara City. Two small rivers cross Kimitsu, the Koito River and the Obitsu River.

According to Japanese census data,^[4] the population of Kimitsu peaked around 2000 and has since declined.

The area of present-day Kimitsu was largely part of the Kururi Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate, centered on the jōkamachi of Kururi Castle. It was divided between the Moda District and the Sue District in the early Meiji period cadastral reforms. Both districts became part of Kimitsu District from April 1, 1897. The villages of Susaki and Yaehara were established with the modern municipal system on April 1, 1889. Kimitsu Town was founded by the merger of these villages on April 1, 1943, and expanded through the annexation of two neighboring villages, Sunami and Sadamoto, on April 1, 1944. The town continued to expand by annexing the towns of Kazusa and Koito and the villages of Seiwa and Obitsu on September 28, 1970. Kimitsu was elevated to city status on September 1, 1971. ^{[citation needed]}

Kimitsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Kimitsu contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Chiba 12th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Despite its short coastline on Tokyo Bay, the economy of Kimitsu is centered around its coastal belt of heavy industries, primarily by the large-scale steelworks of Nippon Steel's Kimitsu Works. Kimitsu Works was established in 1965, covers 11,720,000 square metres (126,200,000 sq ft), and employed 3,280 people as of 2007^[update].^[5] The Koito Fishing Port, technically located in both Kimitsu and Futtsu, is located just north of Cape Futtsu at the mouth of the Koito River. Entry in and out of the fishing port suffers from sediment deposited by the Koito.^[6] Kazusa Akademia Park, which spans both Kimitsu and Kisarazu, was established to carry out research in biotechnology and information technology.^[7]

Kimitsu has 17 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private middle school and one private high school. The prefecture also operates a special education school for students with disabilities.

• Kameyama Dam (Kameyama Lake)
• Katakura Dam (Sasagawa Lake)
• Kururi Castle
• Mishima Dam (Mishima Lake)
• Seiwa Kenmin No Mori Prefectural Park
• Toyofusa Dam (Toyofusa Lake)

• Ryo Hayami, Japanese actor (Kamen Rider X)
• Emi Sakura - professional wrestler^[9]
• Kōki Yamashita, Japanese professional baseball player (infielder - Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Nippon Professional Baseball - Central League)
• Hiroshi Yamato - professional wrestler^[10]