Fukuyama ( 福山市 , Fukuyama-shi ) is a city in Hiroshima Prefecture , Japan . As of 31 March 2023, the city had an estimated population of 459,160 in 214259 households and a population density of 890 persons per km. The total area of the city is 518.14 square kilometres (200.05 sq mi). After Hiroshima , it is the largest city in Hiroshima Prefecture . The city's symbol is the rose and it holds an annual Rose Festival in the month of May. The official mascot of Fukuyama is an anthropomorphic rose child by the name of Rola.
50-625: Fukuyama City is located in southeastern Hiroshima Prefecture. The center of the city is located in the Fukuyama Plain, which has been built by land reclamation projects since the Edo period , and the delta area that spreads out at the mouth of the Ashida River , which flows north and south through the city. The southern end of the city faces the Seto Inland Sea , and the northern mountainous area, which
100-630: A mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 38 members. Fukuyama contributes ten members to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Hiroshima 7th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Fukuyama is a major center for heavy industry , notably steel. JFE Steel West Japan Works Fukuyama Area (former Nippon Kokan Fukuyama Works), which
150-473: A party-list system of proportional representation , and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies. The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system , a form of semi-proportional representation . Under a parallel system, the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the overall allocation of seats in
200-538: A " Hatomander ". The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1956, but was never voted on by the House of Councillors. Electoral reform came into vogue again in the 1970s, but Kakuei Tanaka 's plan met opposition internally in the LDP and never came to a vote in either chamber of the Diet. Japan entered a lengthy recession in the 1990s (see Lost Decades ), which many people blamed on
250-564: A coalition with their old rivals the Socialists, whose leader Tomiichi Murayama became prime minister. As with party colleagues Ichirō Hatoyama and Kakuei Tanaka before him, prime minister Toshiki Kaifu of the LDP unsuccessfully tried to reform the electoral system in 1991. However, the Morihiro Hosokawa government got the 1994 Japanese electoral reform through the Diet, introducing a parallel voting system which went into effect at
300-515: A cousin of Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu . Mizuno was given command of a territory consisting of southern Bingo Province and southwestern Bitchū Province . The Mizuno were later replaced by the Abe clan . Following the Meiji restoration , the town of Fukuyama was established on April 1,1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Fukuyama Town became Fukuyama City on July 1, 1916. The population of
350-527: A major political issue or controversy. One infamous example was on March 14, 1953, when Shigeru Yoshida dissolved the House and called for new election, after he name called people during a meeting of the budget committee. This came to be known as the "you idiot" dissolution . In 1955, prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama oversaw the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which since his third government has dominated Japanese politics under
400-2235: A natural process, fills channels and harbors. [REDACTED] Morocco [REDACTED] Nigeria [REDACTED] South Africa [REDACTED] Tanzania [REDACTED] Bahrain [REDACTED] China [REDACTED] India [REDACTED] Indonesia [REDACTED] Japan [REDACTED] Lebanon [REDACTED] Maldives [REDACTED] Malaysia [REDACTED] Pakistan [REDACTED] Philippines [REDACTED] Qatar [REDACTED] Singapore [REDACTED] South Korea [REDACTED] Sri Lanka [REDACTED] United Arab Emirates [REDACTED] Belarus [REDACTED] Belgium [REDACTED] Denmark [REDACTED] Estonia [REDACTED] Finland [REDACTED] France [REDACTED] Greece [REDACTED] Ireland [REDACTED] Italy [REDACTED] Monaco [REDACTED] Netherlands [REDACTED] Norway [REDACTED] Russia [REDACTED] Spain [REDACTED] Turkey [REDACTED] United Kingdom [REDACTED] Ukraine [REDACTED] Bahamas [REDACTED] Bermuda [REDACTED] Canada [REDACTED] Mexico [REDACTED] United States [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Fiji [REDACTED] New Zealand [REDACTED] Argentina [REDACTED] Brazil [REDACTED] Chile House of Representatives of Japan Opposition (242) Unaffiliated (2) Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The House of Representatives ( Japanese : 衆議院 , Hepburn : Shūgiin )
450-622: A result of the 1889 Meiji Constitution . It was modeled on the parliaments of several Western countries, particularly the German Empire and the United Kingdom, because of the Emperor Meiji 's westernizing reforms. The Imperial Diet consisted of two chambers , the elected House of Representatives which was the lower house, and the House of Peers which was the upper house. This format was similar to
500-460: A waste landfill ), is the process of creating new land from oceans , seas , riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground , reclaimed land , or land fill . In Ancient Egypt , the rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (c. 2000–1800 BC) undertook a far-sighted land reclamation scheme to increase agricultural output. They constructed levees and canals to connect
550-436: Is often used to reclaim land for agricultural use. Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either dredging or draining may be contaminated and hence needs to be contained. Land dredging is also another method of land reclamation. It is the removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of a body of water. It is commonly used for maintaining reclaimed land masses as sedimentation,
SECTION 10
#1732854632974600-557: Is part of ancient Bingo Province , but until large-scale land reclamation projects in the Edo Period , it was largely tidal flats or part of the sea. An exception was the Ekiya neighborhood of northern Fukuyama, which was a post station on the old Sanyōdō highway. In the Edo Period, Fukuyama Castle and its surrounding castle town was founded as a castle town in 1619 by Mizuno Katsunari ,
650-407: Is passed by the lower house (the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the upper house (the House of Councillors ) the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties , the budget , and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block
700-516: Is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan . The House of Councillors is the upper house . The composition of the House is established by Article 41 [ ja ] and Article 42 [ ja ] of the Constitution of Japan . The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by
750-627: Is the southern end of the so-called 'Jinseki Plateau', at the southwestern end of the Kibi Plateau with an elevation of 400 to 500 meters in connected to the Chugoku Mountains . The highest peak in the city is Mt. Kyonoue at 611 meters above sea level. This is the basin of the Oda River, a tributary of the Takahashi River that flows into Kurashiki, Okayama . The urban area is roughly divided into
800-590: The 1955 System . The LDP would govern without interruption for nearly 40 years until the 1993 election , alone save for a three-year coalition government with the New Liberal Club after the 1983 election . Hatoyama planned to change the electoral system to first past the post , introducing a bill to that effect in March 1956. This was met with opposition from the Socialist Party , who criticized Hatoyama's plan as
850-496: The Democratic Socialist Party became Japan's first socialist prime minister and the first since the introduction of parliamentarianism. Since the end of US rule in 1952, it has been the norm that the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives before its 4-year term expires. Only once, in 1976, did the House last a full 4 years. It has become tradition to give nicknames to each dissolution, usually referencing
900-632: The Faiyum with the Bahr Yussef waterway, diverting water that would have flowed into Lake Moeris and causing gradual evaporation around the lake's edges, creating new farmland from the reclaimed land. A similar land reclamation system using dams and drainage canals was used in the Greek Copaic Basin during the Middle Helladic Period (c. 1900–1600 BC). One of the earliest large-scale projects
950-597: The Holocaust . It has the distinction of being the first institution in Japan devoted to Holocaust education. [REDACTED] JR West – San'yō Shinkansen [REDACTED] JR West (JR West) - San'yō Main Line [REDACTED] JR West (JR West) - Akō Line [REDACTED] Ibara Railway Company Land reclamation Land reclamation , often known as reclamation , and also known as land fill (not to be confused with
1000-715: The House of Lords in the Westminster system , or the Herrenhaus in Prussia , where the upper house represented the aristocracy . Both houses, and also the Emperor, had to agree on legislation, and even at the height of party-based constitutional government, the House of Peers could simply vote down bills deemed too liberal by the Meiji oligarchy , such as the introduction of women's suffrage , increases in local autonomy, or trade union rights. The prime minister and his government served at
1050-579: The Kan Cabinet and Noda Cabinet . The LDP and Komeito , who had formed a two-party government between 2003 and 2009, came to power again after the 2012 election . Shinzo Abe , who had previously led the First Abe Cabinet , was prime minister for another stint lasting eight years, stepping down for health reasons in 2020. When the Emperor Akihito expressed interest in abdicating, the Diet passed
SECTION 20
#17328546329741100-514: The List of members of the Diet of Japan . Shaded Note that the composition of the ruling coalition may change between lower house elections, e.g. after upper house elections. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet (e.g. SDP & NPH after the 1996 election) are not shaded. The Japanese parliament, then known as the Imperial Diet, was established in 1890 as
1150-691: The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of war in 1937, the influence of the Imperial Diet was further diminished, though never eliminated, by special laws such as the National Mobilization Law and expanded powers for cabinet agencies such as the Planning Board. The House of Representatives in the Empire had a four-year term and could be dissolved by the Emperor . In contrast, members of
1200-400: The next election in 1996 . Under this system, which remains in effect as of 2022, 300 (since reduced to 289) members of the House of Representatives are elected using first past the post in single-member constituencies, while 200 (since reduced to 176) members are elected in regional blocs using party-list proportional representation . Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi introduced a bill to
1250-399: The third Katsura government , accompanied by major demonstrations outside the Diet, was followed shortly by resignation. Subsequently, in the period often referred to as Taishō democracy , it became increasingly customary to appoint many ministers, including several prime ministers, from the House of Representatives – Hara Takashi was the first commoner to become prime minister in 1918. In
1300-533: The Emperor's pleasure , and could not be removed by the Imperial Diet. However, the right to vote on, and if necessary to block, legislation including the budget, gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations. After an early period of frequent confrontation and temporary alliances between the cabinet and political parties in the lower house, parts of the Meiji oligarchy more sympathetic to political parties around Itō Hirobumi and parts of
1350-540: The Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education and one by the national government. There are also the private elementary schools, five private junior high schools and seven private high schools. The prefecture also operates three special education schools for the disabled. The Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama, inaugurated on June 17, 1995, is dedicated to the memory of 1.5 million children who were murdered in
1400-439: The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house". While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the lower house are very common, and the median lifespan of postwar legislatures has in practice been around 3 years. For a list of majoritarian members and proportional members from Hokkaidō, see
1450-403: The House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. The last election for the House of Representatives was held on October 27, 2024, in which the Liberal Democratic Party and their coalition partner Komeito failed to reach a majority of 233 seats, instead winning 215, 18 short of a majority. The House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill
1500-466: The House of Peers had either life tenure (subject to revocation by the Emperor) or a seven-year term in the case of members elected in mutual peerage elections among the three lower peerage ranks, top taxpayer and academic peerage elections. During the war, the term of the members of the House of Representatives elected in the last pre-war election of 1937 was extended by one year. In the 1946 election to
1550-530: The House of Representatives , held under the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan , women's suffrage was introduced, and a system of "large" electoral districts (one or two per prefecture) with limited voting was used. A change in the electoral law in April 1945 had for the first time allocated 30 seats to the established colonies of the Empire: Karafuto ( Sakhalin ), Taiwan , and Chōsen ( Korea ); but this change
Fukuyama, Hiroshima - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-597: The House of Representatives in 2006 on changing the Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne (see Japanese imperial succession debate ), but he withdrew the bill after the birth of Prince Hisahito of Akishino the same year. The LDP once again lost power at the 2009 election , when the Democratic Party -led Hatoyama Cabinet took over, followed in rapid succession by
1650-571: The House of Representatives is not proportional, to the advantage of larger parties. In contrast, in bodies such as the German Bundestag or the New Zealand Parliament the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked, so that the overall result respects proportional representation fully or to some degree. The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by
1700-462: The House of Representatives would now be able to override the upper house in important matters. The constitution also gave the Diet exclusive legislative authority, without involvement of the Emperor, and explicitly made the cabinet responsible to the Diet and requires that the prime minister has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives. The Diet first met under the new constitution on May 20, 1947. Four days later, Tetsu Katayama of
1750-584: The LDP. In the 1993 election , the party lost power for the first time under the 1955 System, when an eight-party coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party were able to form a government . This government fell apart after nine months, and was succeeded by the Hata Cabinet , another short-lived non-LDP government. The LDP returned to power in 1994 with the Murayama Cabinet , this time in
1800-506: The city at that time was 32,356. In 1933, ten villages from surrounding Fukayasu District were merged into Fukuyama. Two additional villages from Numakuma District were similarly merged in 1942. On August 8, 1945 (two days after the atomic-bombing of Hiroshima ), 91 American B-29 bombers made an air raid on Fukuyama, destroying much of the city. On March 31, 1954, several towns and villages in Kōrimatsu District merged to found
1850-689: The city of Matsunaga. Matsunaga City would eventually merge with Fukuyama City on May 1, 1966. Several towns and villages from the Fukayasu District merged into Fukuyama in 1956, and Fukayasu Town merged in 1962. On April 1, 1974, Ashida Town in Ashina District merged with Fukuyama, followed by Kamo Town, Fukayasu District and Ekiya Town, Ashina District on February 1, 1975,. Fukuyama was promoted to core city status on April 1, 1998 with greater local autonomy. Several other surrounding towns and districts subsequently merged with Fukuyama: Fukuyama has
1900-461: The former Fukuyama city, the eastern (Zao, Kasuga) district, the southern (Tomo, Numakuma) district, the Matsunaga (former Matsunaga City) district, and the northern (Kannabe, Ekiya, Kamo) districts. Fukuyama expanded by incorporated neighboring municipalities one after another, but because the eastern part was blocked by the prefectural border and the southern part by the sea, the city limits expanded to
1950-456: The legislation. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house. Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors , who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, while
2000-509: The liberal parties eventually formed a more permanent alliance, in the form of the Rikken Seiyūkai in 1900. The confidence of the House of Representatives was never a formal requirement to govern, but between 1905 and 1918, only one cabinet took office that did not enjoy majority support in the House of Representatives. During the Taishō political crisis in 1913, a no-confidence vote against
2050-466: The multi-member districts. Influence of the House of Representatives on the government increased, and the party cabinets of the 1920s brought Japan apparently closer to a parliamentary system of government, and there were several reforms to the upper house in 1925. However, the balance of powers between the two houses and the influential role of extra-constitutional actors such as the Genrō (who still selected
Fukuyama, Hiroshima - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-427: The north and west. Hiroshima Prefecture Okayama Prefecture Fukuyama has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter. Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukuyama in 2020 is 460,930 people. Fukuyama has been conducting censuses since 1960. The Fukuyama area
2150-507: The prime minister) or the military (that had brought down several cabinets) remained in essence untouched. Within a year of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, a series of assassinations and coup attempts followed. Party governments were replaced by governments of "national unity" ( kyokoku itchi ) which were dominated by nobles, bureaucrats and increasingly the military. After
2200-560: The same year, the Rice Riots had confronted the government with an unprecedented scale of domestic unrest, and a German Revolution brought the Prusso-German monarchy to an end, the very system Meiji oligarchs had used as the main model for the Meiji constitution to consolidate and preserve Imperial power. Even Yamagata Aritomo and other oligarchs that had been fundamentally opposed to political parties, became more inclined to cooperate with
2250-423: The still mainly bourgeoisie parties, to prevent a rise of socialism or other movements that might threaten Imperial rule. Socialist parties would not be represented in significant numbers in the lower house until the 1930s. The initially very high census suffrage requirement was reduced several times, until the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1925. The electoral system to the House of Representatives
2300-456: Was also fundamentally changed several times: between systems of "small" mostly single- and few multi-member electoral districts (1890s, 1920, 1924), "medium" mostly multi-member districts (1928–1942) and "large" electoral districts (usually only one, rarely two city and one counties district per prefecture; 1900s and 1910s), using first-past-the-post in single-member districts, plurality-at-large voting (1890s) or single non-transferable vote in
2350-465: Was completed in 1961, is not only the company's largest manufacturing base, but also the world's largest steelworks. Fukuyama is also a major manufacturing base for textiles, processed food, electronic equipment, pumps, cranes, machine inspection equipment, food trays, and rubber. Fukuyama has 74 public elementary schools, 34 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government. The city has 13 public high schools operated by
2400-443: Was largely built on reclaimed land, as was Wellington , New Zealand. Land reclamation can be achieved by a number of different methods. The simplest method involves filling the area with large amounts of heavy rock and/or cement , then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called "infilling" and the material used to fill the space is generally called "infill". Draining of submerged wetlands
2450-469: Was never implemented. Similarly, Korea and Taiwan were granted several appointed members of the House of Peers in 1945. In 1946, both houses of the Imperial Diet (together with the Emperor) passed the postwar constitutional amendment which took effect in 1947. The Imperial Diet was renamed the National Diet, the House of Peers was replaced by an elected upper house called the House of Councillors , and
2500-773: Was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi) of land. In Hong Kong the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 20 to 24 hectares (50 to 60 acres) of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction. It was one of the most ambitious projects ever taken during the Colonial Hong Kong era. Some 20% of land in the Tokyo Bay area has been reclaimed, most notably Odaiba artificial island. The city of Rio de Janeiro
#973026