Yūbari, Hokkaidō

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Yūbari (夕張市; -shi) is a city located in Sorachi, Hokkaido, Japan.

As of 2006, the city has an estimated population of 12,828. The total area is 763.36 km². Hemmed in by mountains Yūbari stretches for 25 kilometers along a mountain valley.

The city was founded on April 1, 1943 as a coal mining town. When the mines were operating Yūbari had as many as 120,000 people. With the closing of the mines, in the 1980s an attempt was made to convert the economic base to tourism. Subsidies were obtained from the central government and huge debts incurred for the building of tourist attractions, but few visitors came. In 2007 the city was in the news due to bankruptcy and the refusal of the national government to bail it out. City services had been severely cut and its white elephant amusement park and museums were up for sale. ^[1]

The city is famous for melon and for the now-defunct Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.

Roughly half of Yūbari's government officials resigned in March of 2007 as part of an attempt to streamline the local fiscal situation. The majority of officials stepping down who responded to a survey conducted by Mainichi Shimbun say they "feel no sense of responsibility" for the city's financial problems. ^[2]

[edit] External links

(Japanese) Official website
Yubari local government to file for financial reconstruction after going bankrupt (06/2005) <Unfortunately, this link is broken.>

[edit] Notes

^ "Tokyo Cuts Aid, and Hinterland Withers in Japan", article by Norimitsu Onish in the New York Times, January 27, 2007
^ "Most high-ranking officials of bankrupt municipal gov't feel no sense of responsibility", article in Mainichi Daily News, March 7, 2007. [1]