Sasebo Bay

Sasebo 佐世保市
Core city
Sasebo Station, Huis Ten Bosch, Arkas Sasebo, Kurushima Church, Sasebo Yonkacho, Yosakoi Sasebo Matsuri
Flag Symbol
Location of Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture
Sasebo Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°11′N 129°43′E / 33.183°N 129.717°E / 33.183; 129.717Coordinates: 33°11′N 129°43′E / 33.183°N 129.717°E / 33.183; 129.717
Country	Japan
Region	Kyushu
Prefecture	Nagasaki Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Norio Tomonaga (since May 2009)
Area
• Total	426.47 km2 (164.66 sq mi)
Population (October 1, 2016)
• Total	251,417
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Symbols
• Tree	Flowering Dogwood
• Flower	Lilium speciosum
• Bird	Leomire
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City hall address	1-10 Hachiman, Sasebo-shi, Nagasaki-ken 857-8585
Website	www.city.sasebo.lg.jp/languages/english/index.html

Sasebo (佐世保市^?, Sasebo-shi) is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2016^[update], the city has an estimated population of 251,417 and a population density of 590 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km² (165 sq mi).

The city includes a part of Saikai National Park. Located in the southern part of the city is the Dutch-styled theme park Huis Ten Bosch.

The area of present-day Sasebo was a small fishing village under the control of nearby Hirado Domain until shortly after the start of the Meiji period. Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, when surveying the coasts of northwestern Kyūshū for the site of a navy base, selected his location based on its protected, deep-water harbor, geographic proximity to China and Korea, and the presence of nearby coal fields. Sasebo Naval District, founded in 1886, became the major port for the Japanese navy in its operations in the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, and remained a major naval base to the end of World War II. Along with the base facilities, the navy also constructed the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, which included major shipyards and repair facilities.