Kashiwazaki, Niigata

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Kashiwazaki is a coastal city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It covers about 442 square kilometers and has around 81,800 people (as of November 2020).

Geography and climate
- The city sits in south-central Niigata, with part of it inside the Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park.
- The highest point is Mount Gozu, at 912 meters.
- It has a humid climate with warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snow.
- Average annual temperature is 13.5°C. Rainfall is about 2,411 mm per year, and December is the wettest month. August is the warmest month (around 25.7°C) and February the coldest (about 2.9°C).

Population trend
- The population has been declining for about 30 years.

History
- The area was part of Echigo Province and developed as a stop along the Hokuriku highway.
- In the Edo period, parts were controlled by different feudal domains.
- The modern town of Kashiwazaki was established in 1889. Petroleum discovery in the Meiji era boosted the economy.
- Kashiwazaki became a city on July 1, 1940, and later merged with nearby areas in 1968, 1971, 1989, and 2005.
- On July 16, 2007, a powerful offshore earthquake (magnitude 6.8) caused deaths, injuries, power outages, and a tsunami warning. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant shut down for about 10 months.

Government
- Kashiwazaki uses a mayor-council system, with a directly elected mayor and a 26-member city legislature.
- The city sends two members to the Niigata Prefectural Assembly and is part of Niigata’s 2nd district for national elections.

Economy
- Traditionally, the city has been important for fishing, machinery, glassware, and lumber.
- It hosts the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power station in the world by net output.
- Bourbon, a well-known Japanese confectionery company, is based in Kashiwazaki.

Education
- The city operates 27 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools.
- Five public high schools are run by the prefecture, plus two special education schools.

Transportation
- JR East lines serving Kashiwazaki include the Echigo Line and the Shin’etsu Main Line.