Higashiōmi Explained

Higashiōmi

Native Name Lang:

Settlement Type:

City

Seal Type:

Emblem

Pushpin Map:

Japan

Pushpin Map Caption:

Location in Japan

Coordinates:

35.1167°N 148°W

Subdivision Type:

Country

Subdivision Name:

Japan

Subdivision Type1:

Subdivision Name1:

Subdivision Type2:

Subdivision Name2:

Subdivision Type3:

Extinct Title:

Now part of

Leader Title:

Mayor

Leader Name:

Masakiyo Ogura

Leader Title1:

Vice Mayor

Unit Pref:

Metric

Area Total Km2:

388.37

Population Total:

113,229

Population As Of:

September 1, 2021

Population Density Km2:

auto

Timezone1:

JST

Utc Offset1:

+09:00

Blank1 Name Sec1:

Phone number

Blank1 Info Sec1:

0749-30-6111

Blank Name Sec1:

City hall address

Blank Info Sec1:

10-5, Yōkaichi Midorimachi, Higashiōmi-shi, Shiga-ken 527-8527

Blank Name Sec2:

Climate

Blank Info Sec2:

Cfa

Module:

Embedded:

yes

thumb|right| Yōkaichi Kite Festival is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 113,229 in 45771 households and a population density of 290 persons per km².^[1] The total area of the city is 388.58sqkm.

Geography

Higashiōmi is located in east-central Shiga Prefecture, with a small shoreline the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, and extending inland to the Suzuka Mountains and the border with Mie Prefecture. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Suzuka Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

Shiga Prefecture

Mie Prefecture

Inabe
Komono

Climate

Higashiōmi has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Higashiōmi is 12.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1673 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.1 °C.^[2] The highest recorded temperature was 38.8 °C (July 26, 2014) and the lowest was -11.6 °C (January 31, 1982).

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[3] the population of Higashiōmi has recently plateaued after several decades of growth.

History

Higashiōmi is part of ancient Ōmi Province. Portions of the area were under the control of Yamakami Domain, a 13,000 koku fudai territory during the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. With the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the town of Yōkaichi was established within Gamō District, Shiga. Yōkaichi merged with the villages of Hirata, Ichinobe, and Tamano in Gamō District, and Misono and Takebe from Kanzaki District and was elevated to city status on August 15, 1954. The city of Higashiōmi was established on February 11, 2005, from the merger of Yōkaichi with the towns of Eigenji and Gokashō (both from Kanzaki District), and the towns of Aitō and Kotō (both from Echi District).

On January 1, 2006, the town of Notogawa (from Kanzaki District), and the town of Gamō (from Gamō District) were merged into Higashiōmi.

Government

Higashiōmi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 25 members. Higashiōmi, together with the town of Ryūō, contributes three members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Shiga 2nd district and Shiga 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Higashiōmi is centered on agriculture and light manufacturing. There are several industrial parks in the city. Murata Manufacturing, Kyocera, Panasonic, Suntory and Toppan have large factories in the city.

Education

Higashiōmi has 22 public elementary schools and ten public middle schools operated by the city government. There are five public high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The Biwako-Gakuin University, a private's university with associated junior college, is also located in Higashiōmi.