Koyagi, Nagasaki

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Kōyagi (香焼町; -chou) is a town of Nagasaki City, Japan. Situated approximately 13km south of the centre of Nagasaki City, the town is notable for the Mistubishi shipyard which occupies 60% of urban areas.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,261 and a density of 944.79 persons per km². The total area was 4.51 km².

The main centre of population is located in the north western side from the Eri area to the Nagahama (shipyard) area. The centre of this is the Sato and Fukaura area where the elementary and junior high schools are located. Other buildings in these areas includes a small hospital, a kindergarten, the town hall and a library. A park and viewpoint is located in the centre of Koyagi from which fine views of Nagasaki city and the peninsular can be seen. 2 small beaches are located in the Onoue and Tatsunokuchi areas. The southern Tatsunokuchi beach is famous locally for its scuba diving.

A strong tradition of Peron dragon boat racing exists in Koyagi and in recent years the town team has won the Nagasaki Peron Festival several times.

[edit] History

In 1936 Kawanami Toyosaku bought the Matsuo Shipyard in Koyagi and transformed it into the one of the largest in the far east. During World War II, a P.O.W. camp, Fukuoka #2 was located in Koyagi and the prisoners were forced to work in brutal conditions in the factories. However, soon after the war was over Kawanami was forced to close the factories due to a shortage of money. In 1967, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. acquired the old shipyard facility and started a process of development to create the largest dock in Japan. Completed in 1972, the construction created vast areas of land which attached the island to the mainland. The town continued to function independently of the city until it was dissolved on 4 January 2005 to become a part of Nagasaki City.

[edit] Future Development

Development is currently underway to link Koyagi with the nearby island of Iojima. This two-step process involves construction of a tunnel from the Eri area to the southern side of the town to link with a new bridge connecting the towns.