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Kyushu

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Kyushu region, Japan
Kyushu region, Japan

Kyushu (九州 kyūshū) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. It is considered the birthplace of the Japanese civilization. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国), Chinzei (鎮西), and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島). The ancient region Saikaido consists of Kyushu and its surrounding islands.

Population: 14,779,000 (2003). Area: 35,640 km².

Geography

The island is mountainous, and Japan's tallest active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,592 m, is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso, in central Kyushu.

The Kyushu region (九州地方, kyūshū-chihō) is a politically defined region that consists of seven prefectures on Kyushu, and Okinawa Prefecture to the south.

The largest city on the island by population is Fukuoka, Fukuoka, populated approximately 1.4 million people - a major business center with a major international airport as well as one of five stock exchanges in Japan. Kitakyushu, Fukuoka is also a designated city and major center for heavy industries, populated slightly less than a million. Kumamoto and Kagoshima are 3rd and 4th biggest, populated more than a half million. Nagasaki has one of the oldest international ports, which had been the only gateway to the foreign countries during the Edo Period, from mid 16th to mid 18th centuries.

Economy/Climate

Parts of Kyushu have a subtropical climate, particularly the Miyazaki and Kagoshima regions. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soy; silk is also widely produced. The island is noted for various types of porcelain e.g. Arita, Imari, Satsuma and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals and metal processing.

Education

Major Universities and Colleges in Kyushu:

See also

External links

Divisions of Japan

Regions: Hokkaido | Tohoku | Kantō | Chūbu (Hokuriku - Koshinetsu - Tokai - Chukyo) | Kansai | Chugoku | Shikoku | Kyushu | Ryukyu
Prefectures: Aichi | Akita | Aomori | Chiba | Ehime | Fukui | Fukuoka | Fukushima | Gifu | Gunma | Hiroshima | Hokkaido | Hyogo | Ibaraki | Ishikawa | Iwate | Kagawa | Kagoshima | Kanagawa | Kochi | Kumamoto | Kyoto | Mie | Miyagi | Miyazaki | Nagano | Nagasaki | Nara | Niigata | Oita | Okayama | Okinawa | Osaka | Saga | Saitama | Shiga | Shimane | Shizuoka | Tochigi | Tokushima | Tokyo | Tottori | Toyama | Wakayama | Yamagata | Yamaguchi | Yamanashi
Cities designated by
government ordinance
23 wards of Tokyo | Chiba | Fukuoka | Hiroshima | Kawasaki | Kitakyushu | Kobe | Kyoto | Nagoya | Osaka | Saitama | Sakai | Sapporo | Sendai | Shizuoka | Yokohama

 


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