| Iwaizumi | |||||||
| Native Name Lang: | ja | ||||||
| Settlement Type: | Town | ||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Japan | ||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | |||||||
| Coordinates: | 39.8431°N 141.7964°W | ||||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||||
| Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | Tōhoku | ||||||
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture | ||||||
| Subdivision Name2: | Iwate | ||||||
| Subdivision Type3: | District | ||||||
| Subdivision Name3: | Shimohei | ||||||
| Leader Title: | Mayor | ||||||
| Area Total Km2: | 992.36 | ||||||
| Population Total: | 8987 | ||||||
| Population As Of: | March 31, 2020 | ||||||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||||
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time | ||||||
| Utc Offset1: | +9 | ||||||
| Blank Name Sec1: | Phone number | ||||||
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0194-22-2111 | ||||||
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Address | ||||||
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Iwaizumi-aze Sohata 59-5, Iwaizumi-chō, Shimohei-gun, Iwate 027-0595 | ||||||
| Blank Name Sec2: | Climate | ||||||
| Blank Info Sec2: | Cfa | ||||||
| Module: |
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is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan., the town had a population of 8,006, and a population density of 8.1 persons per km² in 4123 households.[1] The total area of the town is 992.36sqkm.
The area of present-day Iwaizumi was part of the ancient Mutsu Province, which was dominated by the Nambu clan during the Edo period, who ruled Morioka Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.
With the Meiji period establishment of the modern municipalities system, the village of Iwaizumi was created within Kitahei District on April 1, 1889. Kitahei, Nakahei and Higashihei Districts were all merged into Minamihei District on March 29, 1896.
Iwaizumi was elevated to town status on August 1, 1922. On September 30, 1956, Imaizumi annexed the neighboring villages of Akka, Ugei, Okawa and Omoto and on April 1, 1957, annexed the village of Kogawa to reach is present borders.
In August 2016, Typhoon Lionrock hit the town with strong winds and heavy rain that caused landslides and flooding. 19 people died, including 9 people who drowned in a nursing home after a river burst its banks.
Iwaizumi is in the Kitakami Mountains of northeast Iwate prefecture, east of the prefectural capital of Morioka. It has a small coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the east. The area has numerous limestone caves, including the Ryūsendō.
Iwate Prefecture
Iwaizumi has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Iwaizumi is 9.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1283 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around −2.0 °C.[2]
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Iwaizumi peaked in around the year 1960 and has declined steadily over the past 60 years, and is now less than half of what it was in the year 1970, and less than it was a century ago.
Iwaizumi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 10 members. Iwaizumi, together with the city of Miyako and the villages of Fudai, Tanohata and Yamada, collectively contributes three seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Iwate 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
The local economy is based on agriculture and to a lesser extent on commercial fishing.
Iwaizumi has five public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education.
Sanriku Railway – Kita-Rias Line
The JR East Iwaizumi Line, which connected Iwaizumi with Moichi Station on the Yamada Line suspended operations on 31 July 2010, due to a landslide. The line was officially closed on April 1, 2014, owing to low public demand.
United States – Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA, sister city since August 1990[4]