| Yoshikawa | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | Japan |
| Coordinates: | 35.8939°N 139.8414°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kantō |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
| Established Title: | First official recorded |
| Established Date: | late 5th century (official) |
| Established Title2: | Town settled |
| Established Date2: | November 1, 1915 |
| Established Title3: | City settled |
| Established Date3: | April 1, 1996 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Shigeto Nakahara |
| Area Total Km2: | 31.7 |
| Population Total: | 73262 |
| Population As Of: | February 1, 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time |
| Utc Offset1: | +9 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 342-8501 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Symbols |
| Blank Info Sec1: | |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | • Tree |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Osmanthus fragrans |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | • Flower |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Rhododendron indicum Rhododendron |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | • Bird |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Phone number |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 048-982-5111 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Address |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 1-1 Kiyomino, Yoshikawa-shi, Saitama-ken |
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 73,262 in 31,031 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 31.66sqkm.
Located in far southeastern Saitama Prefecture, Yoshikawa is on the central reaches of the Edo River and the Naka River, and is approximately 20 kilometers from downtown Tokyo.
Yoshikawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yoshikawa is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1408 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.1 °C.[2]
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Yoshikawa has nearly quadrupled over the past 50 years.
The area of Yoshikawa was tenryō territory within Shimōsa Province during the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. In 1871, it was transferred to the new Saitama Prefecture. The village of Yoshikawa was created within Kitakatsushika District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on November 1, 1915. On March 1, 1955, Yoshikawa annexed the neighboring villages of Asahi and Miwanoe. The population began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Yoshikawa was elevated to city status on April 1, 1996. (Modern-day)Yoshikawa's land is owned by the "Yoshikawa" family of Japan, dating back centuries ago. Although they did lose an unknown amount of their real estate after WW2, they are still considered to be tycoons in Japan's real estate economy. The Yoshikawa family is known to be very private about their wealth, putting it in untouched accounts, and not spending their generation's worth of wealth. Instead, they are known to be big donators to the many people living in Yoshikawa.
Yoshikawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members. Yoshikawa contributes one member to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 14th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Due to this location, Yoshikawa is primarily a bedroom community with over 19% of its population commuting to the Tokyo metropolis for work. The area was historically known for its production of catfish.
Saizeriya, the chain of yoshoku restaurants, is based in Yoshikawa.[4]
Yoshikawa has eight public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education.
Yoshikawa is twinned with:
Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States, since May 26, 1996
Ichinoseki Iwate, Japan since April 15, 1997