3 HHHiiissstttooorrryyy ooofff MMMiiinnnaaammmaaatttaaa---CCCiiitttyyy Kyushu Kumamoto Pref. Kumamoto oration, was established in 1908. arming and fishing village. Nippon realization of a national government l economy, by September 2007, the tion and other infrastructure were laid ns in 1956, when the city boundaries the aspect of one of only a handful of ity in 1949, and took an important step iod, with the introduction of the cities, n the tidal flats, with only 2,325 homes rowth. he accelerated urban drift associated with gr Japan Located in southwest Kyushu,in the southernmost tip of Kumamoto Prefecture, Minamata cities City of adjoins Izumi the and Okuchi Surrounded in by Kagoshima mountains Prefecture. and sides, the city straddles the mouth rolling of the Minamata river hills on where it opens into the three sea. The climate is warm and the city covers an area of 162.88 square kilometers. Richly vegetated mountains occupy a large proportion of the clty's area, and hamlets river's are length. scattered Seventy along percent the of the resides in its urban city's areas, and most stores and population businesses are located there. The coastal regions facing the Shiranui Sea (Yatsushiro Sea) are littered with inlets and there are also many fishing ports. The stretches beautiful along Rias the coastline northern 268 coast. National Highway traverses Highway 3 the and the JR Kagoshima line run from North to city South. East-West, The while opening of possible National Kyushu to Shinkansen made access Kagoshima in it 32 Yatsushiro minutes. In addition, in Hisatsu Railroad Orange 14 runs minutes Prefecture and Sendai in Kagoshima Prefecture. between and Yatsushiro in Kumamoto down. Emerging from the devastation of war, Minamata became a c toward modernity. The population reached a peak of 50,461 perso were redrawn to encompass Kugino village. Minamata City took on modern, industrial cities in Kumamoto Prefecture. Exhausted by the outbreak of Minamata disease, the effect of t Minamata village came into being in 1889, during the Meiji per Minamata was designated a town in 1912, when a railroad connec high economic growth, and the subsequent decline of the regiona towns and villages system. Although the village produced salt o and a population of 12,040, Minamata was Nitrogen no more that Fertilizer a small Corporation, f the Thereafter, Minamata developed in parallel with the predecessor company's g of Chisso Corp population had also declined to 28,901 persons. Thanks to the implementation of redevelopment schemes and the financial support improvement scheme, in Chisso business industries including recycling companies, situation. electric appliance Corp. The made promotion manufacture, a plywood factory, is also progressing. of an Now overcoming the problems brought disease, the City of Minamata, despite its size, is by promoting Minamata an Environmental Model City resource circulation in society while order aiming to at comfortable environmentally conscious a city. construct warm and a .