Hiratsuka from Shonandaira (The left side is the north, the center is Hiratsuka TV Tower, and on the right in the rear is Sagami Bay and the mouth of the Sagami River.)
Hiratsuka is located in the Shōnan area on the right bank (west side) of the Sagami River, almost in the center of Kanagawa Prefecture, and faces Sagami Bay to the south. The area from the Sagami River to the Kaname River is a plain to the northern end of the city area, and the urban area extends to the south. The west side of the Kaname River is a hilly area that is part of the Oiso Hills, and there is a lot of greenery. It is approximately midway between Tokyo and Mount Fuji.
Hiratsuka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hiratsuka is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2144 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.[3]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Hiratsuka grew rapidly during the late 20th century but has plateaued in the 21st.
After the Meiji Restoration, Hiratsuka town was founded on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system, as part of the new Naka District within Kanagawa Prefecture. It merged with neighboring Suma Town on April 1, 1929, and was proclaimed Hiratsuka City on April 1, 1932.
The city quickly rebuilt after the war, annexing several neighboring villages in the mid-1950s to attain its current area. The population exceeded 200,000 by 2001 and Hiratsuka became a special city with increased autonomy from the central government. The current mayor is the independent Katsuhiro Ochai (落合克宏) who was elected April 24, 2011, and assumed office on April 30. Previously he had served two terms on the Hiratsuka city council and as council chairperson for the majority of the second term. Ochai succeeded Ritsuko Okura, the city's first female mayor, who served from 2003 to 2011.
Government
Hiratsuka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 26 members. Hiratsuka contributes three members to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 15th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
Hiratsuka has a mixed economy, with tax revenue coming from bets made at the Shonan Bank Cycling Velodrome and, several industries located in industrial parks in the outskirts of town. Major plants are operated by Nissan Shatai, Yokohama Rubber Company, Canon, Furukawa Electric, Pilot – the famous Namiki pens are produced at Hiratsuka, Kansai Paint, and Mitsubishi Plastics. Nissan Shatai is the largest employer in the city, but announced plans to move a factory to Kanda. Western firms such as Moog and MacDermid Performance Solutions also have a strong presence in this city.[5] Hiratsuka is also a bedroom community for Yokohama and Tokyo, with residents attracted by the "Shōnan lifestyle".
Education
Hiratsuka has 28 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education and one private high school. The prefecture also operates four special education schools for the handicapped. A private junior college, the Tokai University Junior College of Nursing and Technology is located within Hiratsuka, which also has branch campuses of Kanagawa University, Shoin University and Tokai University.
^"MacDermid Performance Solutions Completes Major Expansion of Japan Facility". Yahoo! Finance. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-29. MacDermid Performance Solutions' state-of-the-art R&D facility is located in Hiratsuka City and now equipped with enhanced capabilities to accommodate the changing requirements of Japanese customers of both plating chemistry and assembly materials.
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