Taro, Iwate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tarō (田老町; -chou) was a town located in Shimohei District, Iwate, Japan. On June 6, 2005, the town merged with the village of Niisato into the expanded city of Miyako and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,648 and a density of 46.00 persons per km². The total area was 101.05 km².

The former town is located to the east of the prefectural capital Morioka and to the north of the regional center Miyako with which it has now merged. The area has a rugged coastline to the east, which is a part of Sanriku rias coast. The main local industry is fishing.

The town built tall seawalls to prevent flooding from tsunami, which devastated the town in 1611, 1896, and 1933.