Ashio
Ashio (足尾町? Ashio-machi) was a town located in , , Japan.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated mo population of 3,465 and a density of 18.65 persons per km². The total area was 185.79 km².
On March 20, 2006, Ashio, along with the city of , the town of , and the village of (both from ), was merged into the expanded city of .
Ashio was the location of a copper mine that caused a major pollution problem in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Subsequent environmental problems related to the mine are still evident along the river, in , Gunma and Ibaraki Prefectures. In 1907 the miners here rioted. During World War Two a POW camp was based here to supply slave labour to the copper mines.
The following communities agreed to seek the permission of the governor of the prefecture to merge on March 1, 2006:
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