Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki

Kawasaki
川崎

Ward of Kawasaki

川崎区• Kawasaki-ku

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Location of Kawasaki in Kanagawa

Kawasaki

Coordinates: 35°31′46″N 139°42′12″E / 35.52944°N 139.70333°ECoordinates: 35°31′46″N 139°42′12″E / 35.52944°N 139.70333°E

Established

April 1, 1972

Area

• Total

39.21 km² (15.14 sq mi)

Population (March 2010)

• Total

216,826

• Density

5,530/km² (14,300/sq mi)

Time zone

Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Address

8-banchi Higashida, Kawasaki-ku Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken
210-8570

Website

Kawasaki Ward Office

Kawasaki-ku (川崎区) is one of the seven wards of the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 216,826 and a density of 5,530 persons per km². The total area was 39.21 square kilometres (15.14 sq mi). Kawasaki-ku has the home to the second largest Koreatown in Japan.

Geography

Kawasaki Ward is located in northeastern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the northeast portion of the city of Kawasaki, bordering on the Tama River and Tokyo to the north and Tokyo Bay to the south and east. Much of the land area of the Ward is reclaimed land

Surrounding municipalities

History

Under the Nara period Ritsuryō system, what is now Kawasaki Ward became part of Tachibana District Musashi Province. In the Edo period, it was administered as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto, and prospered as Kawasaki-juku, a post station on the Tokaido highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. After the Meiji Restoration, the area urbanized with the development of Kawasaki Station on the Tokaido Main Line and became a center for heavy industry. The area was largely destroyed by the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 and during American bombing during World War II. Kawasaki Ward was established with the division of the city of Kawasaki into wards on April 1, 1972. Long associated with grime, labor unrest, organized crime and pollution-related diseases, the local government undertook extensive efforts in the 1990s to revamp the area image.

Economy

The economy of Kawasaki Ward continues to be dominated by industry.

Fuji Electric
JFE Steel - Operates several major plants near Tokyo Bay. JFE's main plant for eastern Japan is located on the border of Kawasaki-ku and Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama.
Mitsubishi Chemical
Showa Electric
Showa Shell Oil
Tokyo Electric Power
Kao Corporation
Ajinomoto