Honshu ( 本州 , Honshū , pronounced [hoꜜɰ̃ɕɯː] ; lit. ' main island ' ) , historically called Akitsushima ( 秋津島 , lit. ' Dragonfly island ' ) , is the largest and most populous island of Japan . It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait , north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea , and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits . The island separates the Sea of Japan , which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java .
58-556: JGC Holdings Corporation , formerly JGC Corporation ( 日揮株式会社 , Nikki Kabushiki-gaisha ) , and before that Japan Gasoline Co. ( 日本揮発油株式会社 , Nihon kihatsuyu kabushiki gaisha ) , is a global engineering company headquartered in Yokohama , Japan. The company was founded on 25 October 1928. In 1976, it changed its original name from Japan Gasoline Co. to JGC Corp. In 2019, it changed its name to JGC Holdings Corporation to reflect its changed corporate structure. JGC participates in
116-593: A Japanese corporation- or company-related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Yokohama Yokohama ( Japanese : 横浜 , pronounced [jokohama] ) is the second-largest city in Japan by population and by area, and the country's most populous municipality . It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture , with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo Bay , south of Tokyo , in
174-530: A domestic engineering company in Japan. Moreover, they are earnestly embarking on environmental businesses, including carbon credit trading, and participation in water quality improvement projects in China has been reported. In North America, they have started an oil development business as a 100% owned operator (producing about 1,000 barrels per day), indicating a notable expansion beyond plants. Domestically in Japan,
232-718: A mainly humid continental climate while the south has a humid subtropical climate . The name of the island, Honshū ( 本州 ) , directly translates to "main province" or "original land" in English. Humans first arrived in Honshu approximately 37,000 years ago, and likely earlier. The first humans to arrive in Honshu were Stone Age hunter-gatherers from Northeast Asia, likely following the migration of ice age megafauna . Surviving artifacts from this period include finely-crafted stone blades, similar to those found in Siberia . Honshu
290-430: A move away from their traditional reliance solely on oil & gas operations. While the scale of their business in this sector isn't massive, they also have a track record in the life sciences field related to medical and pharmaceuticals. In 2008, they won a contract for the facility maintenance, operation, and procurement of Tokyo 's Mental Health Center for about 15 years. This marked the first hospital PFI business for
348-424: A pattern of rain, clouds and sun, although in winter, it is surprisingly sunny, more so than Southern Spain. Winter temperatures rarely drop below freezing, while summer can seem quite warm, because of the effects of humidity. The coldest temperature was on 24 January 1927 when −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) was reached, whilst the hottest day was 11 August 2013 at 37.4 °C (99.3 °F). The highest monthly rainfall
406-568: A policy of national seclusion , having little contact with foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity . It was initially agreed that one of
464-523: A total of 18 Wards. The LDP has minority control with 36 seats. The incumbent mayor is Takeharu Yamanaka , who defeated his predecessor Fumiko Hayashi in the 2021 Yokohama mayoral election . Yokohama has 18 wards ( ku ): per km In 2020, Yokohama's total gross regional product was 14.06 trillion yen or US$ 133 billion, a 1.9 per cent decrease compared to the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic . This converts to US$ 35,107 per citizen, below
522-701: Is Japan's first high-speed rail line. It is the world's oldest high-speed rail line and one of the most heavily used. The San'yō Shinkansen , connects the two largest cities in western Japan, Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka . Both the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Sanyo Shinkansen help form a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt megalopolis. The island
580-424: Is a leading engineering company in Japan. Their main business is "building manufacturing facilities to make products." These manufacturing facilities include oil refineries, petrochemical and chemical plants, LNG plants, and natural gas processing plants. Since its establishment, the company has carried out over 20,000 projects in more than 80 countries worldwide, boasting one of the most remarkable track records in
638-468: Is a leading university in Yokohama which is also one of the highest ranking national universities in Japan. Yokohama is twinned with: Yokohama also cooperates with: Honshu Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017 , constituting 81.3% of the entire population of Japan, and mostly concentrated in the coastal areas and plains. Approximately 30% of the total population resides in
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#1732787012669696-719: Is from Honshu. Japan's three largest industrial regions are all located on Honshu: the Keihin region , the Hanshin Industrial Region , and the Chūkyō Industrial Area . Honshu is home to a large portion of Japan's minimal mineral reserves, including small oil and coal deposits. Several coal deposits are located in the northern part of the island, concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture , though Honshu's coal production
754-411: Is located in a belt running along Honshu's southern coast, from Tokyo to Nagoya , Kyōto , Osaka , Kobe , and Hiroshima ; by contrast, the economy along the northwestern Sea of Japan coast is largely based on fishing and agriculture. The island is linked to the other three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. The island primarily shares two climates, with Northern Honshu having
812-436: Is negligible in comparison to Hokkaido and Kyushu . Most of Japan's oil reserves are also located in northern Honshu, along the west coast, spanning Niigata, Yamagata , and Akita Prefectures. Most of Japan's copper, lead, zinc and chromite is located on Honshu, along with smaller, scattered deposits of gold, silver, arsenic, sulfur and pyrite . The Tokaido Shinkansen , opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka ,
870-605: Is no official survey of the citizens' countries of birth, hence these numbers do not include naturalized citizens, but they include foreign nationals born outside their country of citizenship. Yokohama is one of the 20 designated cities in the country, which means the city has many powers that usually belong to prefectural governments, while having wards as subdivisions with administrative functions. Yokohama city consists of 18 wards, with its government seat in Naka Ward . The Yokohama City Council consists of 86 members elected from
928-435: Is served by Tokyo's two main airports Haneda Airport which is 17.4 km away and Narita International Airport which is 77 km away. Yokohama is the world's 31st largest seaport in terms of total cargo volume, at 121,326 freight tons as of 2011 , and is ranked 37th in terms of TEUs ( Twenty-foot equivalent units ). In 2013, APM Terminals Yokohama facility was recognized as the most productive container terminal in
986-677: The East Coast of the United States . Minato Mirai 21 hosted the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, which saw the first public operation of maglev trains in Japan and the opening of Cosmo Clock 21 , then the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. The 860-metre-long (2,820 ft) Yokohama Bay Bridge opened in the same year. In 1993, Minato Mirai 21 saw the opening of the Yokohama Landmark Tower ,
1044-524: The Great Kantō earthquake . The Yokohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, out of a pre-earthquake population of 434,170. Fuelled by rumors of rebellion and sabotage, vigilante mobs thereupon murdered many Koreans in the Kojiki-yato slum. Many people believed that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake. Martial law was in place until November 19. Rubble from
1102-579: The Greater Tokyo Area on the Kantō Plain . As the historical center of Japanese cultural and political power, the island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyōto , Nara , and Kamakura . Much of the island's southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt , a megalopolis that spans several of the Japanese islands. Honshu contains Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, and its largest lake, Lake Biwa . Most of Japan's industry
1160-603: The Kantō region of the main island of Honshu . Yokohama is also the major economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area along the Keihin Industrial Zone . Yokohama was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1859 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city, after Kobe opened in 1853. Yokohama is the home of many Japan's firsts in
1218-467: The Meiji period , including the first foreign trading port and Chinatown (1859), European-style sport venues (1860s), English-language newspaper (1861), confectionery and beer manufacturing (1865), daily newspaper (1870), gas-powered street lamps (1870s), railway station (1872), and power plant (1882). Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in
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#17327870126691276-734: The Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge ), the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaidō, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connect Honshu with Kyūshū . These are notable flora and fauna of Honshu. Being on the Ring of Fire , the island of Honshu is seismically active, and is home to 40 active volcanoes. In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0–9.1 occurred off the coast of Honshu, generating tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) high and killing 19,747. It
1334-820: The Tsurumi River , which begins in the Tama Hills and empties into the Pacific Ocean . These municipalities surround Yokohama: Kawasaki , Yokosuka , Zushi , Kamakura , Fujisawa , Yamato , Machida . The city is very prone to natural phenomena such as earthquakes and tropical cyclones because the island of Honshū has a high level of seismic activity, being in the middle of the Pacific Ring of Fire . Most seismic movements are of low intensity and are generally not perceived by people. However, Yokohama has experienced two major tremors that reflect
1392-617: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly before Japan's surrender and signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, on board the USS ; Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay . The island is roughly 1,300 km (810 mi) long and ranges from 50 to 230 km (31 to 143 mi) wide, and its total area is 227,960 km (88,020 sq mi), making it slightly larger than
1450-726: The second-tallest building in Japan . The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was held in June at the International Stadium Yokohama . In 2009, the city marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port and the 120th anniversary of the commencement of the City Administration. An early part in the commemoration project incorporated the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), which
1508-538: The Ōoka River and the Nakamura River have been a gulf divided by a sandbar from the open sea. This sandbar was the original Yokohama fishing village. Since the sandbar protruded perpendicularly from the land, or horizontally when viewed from the sea, it was called a "horizontal beach". Before the Europeans arrived, Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period , when Japan held
1566-455: The Pacific shore. The climate is generally humid subtropical in western Japan and humid continental in the north. Honshu has a total population of 104 million people, according to a 2017 estimate, 81.3% of the entire population of Japan. The largest city is Tokyo (population: 13,988,129), the capital of Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area , the most populous metropolitan area in
1624-478: The Tokugawa government built a commercial sex district which opened on November 10, 1859, with 6 brothels and 200 indentured sex workers. The area of Yokohama with the highest concentration of brothels was known as Bloodtown. Kannai , the foreign trade and commercial district (literally, inside the barrier ), was surrounded by a moat, foreign residents enjoying extraterritorial status both within and outside
1682-622: The basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was officially incorporated on April 1, 1889. By the time the extraterritoriality of foreigner areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreigner areas stretching from Kannai to the Bluff area and the large Yokohama Chinatown . The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to
1740-401: The characteristic mountain system of the island of Honshū , so its growth has been limited and it has had to gain ground from the sea. This also affects the population density, one of the highest in Japan with 8,500 inhabitants per km . The highest points within the urban boundary are Omaruyama (156 m [512 ft]) and Mount Enkaizan (153 m [502 ft]). The main river is
1798-512: The city and in just one hour and nine minutes, reducing 42% of it to rubble. During the American occupation , Yokohama was a major transshipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the Korean War . After the occupation, most local U.S. naval activity moved from Yokohama to an American base in nearby Yokosuka . Four years after the Treaty of San Francisco signed,
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1856-512: The city area, including. In 2016, 46,017,157 tourists visited the city, 13.1% of whom were overnight guests. Yokohama is serviced by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen , a high-speed rail line with a stop at Shin-Yokohama Station . Yokohama Station is also a major station, with two million passengers daily. The Yokohama Municipal Subway , Minatomirai Line and Kanazawa Seaside Line provide metro services. Yokohama does not have an airport, but
1914-525: The city was designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. The city's tram and trolleybus system was abolished in 1972, the same year as the opening of the first line of Yokohama Municipal Subway . Construction of Minato Mirai 21 ("Port Future 21"), a major urban development project on reclaimed land started in 1983, nicknamed the " Philadelphia and Boston of the Orient" was compared to Center City, Philadelphia and Downtown Boston located in
1972-477: The company, along with Toyo Engineering and Chiyoda Chemical Construction, was once called the "Big Three of Engineering." However, as of 2020, the company significantly outpaces the other two in terms of net profit and order backlog. Every month, on the last day, they advertise prominently on the front page of the morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. This article about
2030-541: The compound. Interactions with the local population, particularly young samurai, outside the settlement inevitably caused problems; the Namamugi Incident , one of the events that preceded the downfall of the shogunate , took place in what is now Tsurumi Ward in 1862, and prompted the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863. To protect British commercial and diplomatic interests in Yokohama a military garrison
2088-551: The design and construction of large energy projects, such as Al Zour Refinery , Nigeria LNG , Pearl GTL , Ichthys LNG , Gorgon LNG , Tangguh LNG and Dolphin Gas Project and over the course of the company's history it implemented over 20,000 projects in 50 countries. The company is listed on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX 100 and Nikkei 225 stock market indices . The company
2146-513: The evolution of Earthquake engineering : the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake devastated the city and caused more than 100,000 fatalities throughout the region, while the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , with its epicenter on the east coast, was felt in the locality but only material damage was lamented because most buildings were already prepared to withstand them. Yokohama features a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ) with hot, humid summers and chilly winters. Weatherwise, Yokohama has
2204-577: The foreign settlement on November 26, 1866, and smallpox was a recurrent public health hazard, but the city continued to grow rapidly – attracting foreigners and Japanese alike. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk , the main trading partner being Great Britain. Western influence and technological transfer contributed to the establishment of Japan's first daily newspaper (1870), first gas-powered street lamps (1872) and Japan's first railway constructed in
2262-494: The island of Great Britain . Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north due to plate tectonics with a convergent boundary . Honshu has 10,084 kilometres (6,266 mi) of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes (such as the Great Kantō earthquake , which heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923; and the earthquake of March 2011 , which moved
2320-433: The main produce grown in Honshu. The Tohoku region, spanning the north-eastern part of the island, is notable for its rice production, with 65% of cultivated land being rice paddy fields – almost a quarter of all paddy fields in Japan. Chiba Prefecture is famous for its peanuts, also being the largest producer in Japan. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu. Most of Japan's tea and silk
2378-788: The mid-19th century and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe , Osaka , Nagoya , Fukuoka , Tokyo and Chiba . Yokohama is the largest port city and high tech industrial hub in the Greater Tokyo Area and the Kantō region. The city proper is headquarters to companies such as Isuzu , Nissan , JVCKenwood , Keikyu , Koei Tecmo , Sotetsu and Bank of Yokohama . Famous landmarks in Yokohama include Minato Mirai 21 , Nippon Maru Memorial Park , Yokohama Chinatown , Motomachi Shopping Street , Yokohama Marine Tower , Yamashita Park , and Ōsanbashi Pier . Yokohama (横浜) means "horizontal beach". The current area surrounded by Maita Park,
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2436-513: The national average. A large number of Yokohama's citizens work outside the city (693,064 in 2020), primarily in Tokyo , and the economic value they generate outside the city does not contribute to Yokohama's economic output. The largest contributors to this figure were wholesale and retail (17.8%), healthcare (11.7%), and academic, professional, or technological services (11.0%). Yokohama's cultural and tourist sights include: There are 42 museums in
2494-487: The north of the city toward Kawasaki , which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area . The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, then the largest slum in Japan. Much of Yokohama was destroyed on September 1, 1923, by
2552-482: The northeastern part of the island by varying amounts of as much as 5.3 m (17 ft) while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m (12,388 ft), which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island . There are many rivers, including the Shinano River , Japan's longest. The Japanese Alps span the width of Honshu, from the 'Sea of Japan' coast to
2610-499: The ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the town of Kanagawa-juku (in what is now Kanagawa Ward ) on the Tōkaidō , a strategic highway that linked Edo to Kyoto and Osaka. However, the Tokugawa shogunate decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, and port facilities were instead built across the inlet in the fishing village of Yokohama. The Port of Yokohama
2668-629: The quake was used to reclaim land for parks, the most famous being the Yamashita Park on the waterfront which opened in 1930. Yokohama was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by U.S. air raids during World War II. The first bombing was in the April 18, 1942 Doolittle Raid . An estimated 7,000–8,000 people were killed in a single morning on May 29, 1945, in what is now known as the Great Yokohama Air Raid, when B-29s firebombed
2726-613: The same year to connect Yokohama to Shinagawa and Shinbashi in Tokyo. In 1872 Jules Verne portrayed Yokohama, which he had never visited, in an episode of his widely read novel Around the World in Eighty Days , capturing the atmosphere of the fast-developing, internationally oriented Japanese city. In 1887, a British merchant, Samuel Cocking , built the city's first power plant. At first for his own use, this coal power plant became
2784-610: The total population, with the number having grown significantly in recent years. While all three countries with the number of nationals living in Yokohama as citizens exceeding 10,000 are all in Asia ( China , South Korea , Vietnam ), other major countries of origin for Yokohama's non-Japanese residents include Brazil (2,823), the United States (2,793), Peru (1,312), the United Kingdom (840), and Germany (770). There
2842-570: The world averaging 163 crane moves per hour, per ship between the vessel's arrival and departure at the berth. Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the city of Yokohama. There are nine public high schools which are operated by the Yokohama City Board of Education, and a number of public high schools which are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education . Yokohama National University
2900-655: The world. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku by tunnels and bridges. Three bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku ( Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and the Ōnaruto Bridge ; Shin-Onomichi Bridge , Innoshima Bridge , Ikuchi Bridge , Tatara Bridge , Ōmishima Bridge , Hakata–Ōshima Bridge , and the Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge ; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge , Hitsuishijima Bridge , Iwakurojima Bridge , Yoshima Bridge , Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge , and
2958-516: The world. Especially in the area of LNG plants, they have designed and built plants that account for more than 30% of the world's production volume. During the plant construction boom in the late 2000s due to high crude oil prices, they adopted a selective order strategy, reducing sales while achieving record-high profits. In recent years, they have been exploring and expanding into new areas such as waste plastic gasification facilities, SAF production facilities, and lunar propellant plants. This indicates
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#17327870126693016-708: Was Kohoku with a population of 364,760, followed by Aoba (308,379), Tsurumi (297,230), and Totsuka (282,601). In terms of population density, Nishi and Minami are the most densely populated, with a per square kilometre population exceeding 15,000. Of Yokohama's population, 1,548,077 work outside the city, while 1,226,618 workers commute from outside the city. As these numbers suggest, some of Yokohama's residential areas are commuter suburbs (or "bed towns" as known in Japanese) for those who work in other major cities, primarily Tokyo. As of June 2024, Yokohama's population includes 121,042 foreign nationals, making up 3.2% of
3074-690: Was established in 1862. With the growth in trade increasing numbers of Chinese also came to settle in the city. Yokohama was the scene of many notable firsts for Japan including the growing acceptance of western fashion, photography by pioneers such as Felice Beato , Japan's first English language newspaper, the Japan Herald published in 1861 and in 1865 the first ice cream confectionery and beer to be produced in Japan. Recreational sports introduced to Japan by foreign residents in Yokohama included European style horse racing in 1862, cricket in 1863 and rugby union in 1866. A great fire destroyed much of
3132-554: Was held in Yokohama in May 2008. In November 2010, Yokohama hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. Yokohama has a total area of 437.38 km (168.87 sq mi) at an elevation of 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level. It is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture , bordered to the east by Tokyo Bay and located in the middle of the Kantō plain . The city is surrounded by hills and
3190-463: Was in October 2004 with 761.5 millimetres (30.0 in), closely followed by July 1941 with 753.4 millimetres (29.66 in), whilst December and January have recorded no measurable precipitation three times each. The city's population is 3,772,726 as of 1 June 2024, making it the second-most populated city in the country after Tokyo's 23 special wards . Among Yokohama's 18 wards, the most inhabited
3248-451: Was officially opened on June 2, 1859. Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Foreigners initially occupied the low-lying district of the city called Kannai , residential districts later expanding as the settlement grew to incorporate much of the elevated Yamate district overlooking the city, commonly referred to by English-speaking residents as The Bluff . Under pressure from United States and United Kingdom officials,
3306-609: Was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan , and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The tsunami subsequently led to the meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant , leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster . Honshu island generates around US$ 3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP . Fruit, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton make up
3364-795: Was the target of devastating air raids during the Pacific War of World War II . The first air raid to strike Honshu and the other home islands was the Doolittle Raid . With the introduction of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress , the firebombing of Tokyo culminated in Operation Meetinghouse , the most destructive air raid in human history, which destroyed 16 square miles (41 km ; 10,000 acres) of central Tokyo , leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead, and over one million homeless. The war ended with
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