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Kagoshima prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture
鹿児島県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese 鹿児島県
 • Rōmaji Kagoshima-ken
Flag of Kagoshima Prefecture
Flag
Official logo of Kagoshima Prefecture
Symbol of Kagoshima Prefecture
Location of Kagoshima Prefecture
Country Japan
Region Kyushu
Island Kyushu
Capital Kagoshima
Government
 • Governor Satoshi Mitazono
Area
 • Total 9,132.42 km2 (3,526.05 sq mi)
Area rank 10th
Population (May 1, 2016)
 • Total 1,639,903
 • Rank 24th
 • Density 179.57/km2 (465.1/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code JP-46
Districts 8
Municipalities 43
Flower Miyamakirishima (Rhododendron kiusianum)
Tree Camphor laurel
(Cinnamomum camphora)
Bird Lidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi)
Website www.pref.kagoshima.jp/foreign/english/index.html

Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県 Kagoshima-ken?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.

Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma, including the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands (Satsunan). This region played a key role in the Meiji Restoration (Saigo Takamori), and the city of Kagoshima was an important naval base during Japan's 20th century wars and the home of admiral Tōgō Heihachirō. More recent incidents are the sinking of a North Korean spy ship (100 ton class) in 2001 by the Coast Guard, which was later salvaged and exhibited in Tokyo, and the abduction of an office clerk from a Kagoshima beach in 1978 by agents from the same country. This became known only recently under the Koizumi administration.

Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu on the Satsuma Peninsula and Ōsumi Peninsula. This prefecture also includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest of Kyushu for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands. Surrounded by the East China Sea to the west, Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people, there are less than 2 million in this prefecture.


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