Tōhō is located in the southeastern part of Fukuoka Prefecture and borders Hita City in Oita Prefecture. Most of the village area is mountainous, and a small portion is agricultural.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Tōhō is as shown below
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1940
7,425
—
1950
8,666
+16.7%
1960
6,352
−26.7%
1970
4,190
−34.0%
1980
3,594
−14.2%
1990
3,371
−6.2%
2000
2,948
−12.5%
2010
2,433
−17.5%
2020
1,899
−21.9%
Climate
Tōhō has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tōhō is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1532 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.2 °C.[3]
History
The area of Tōhō was part of ancient Chikuzen Province, but was on the border of Buzen and Bungo Provinces. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Fukuoka Domain. The villages of Koishiwara and Hōshuyama in Asakura District were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The two villages merged on March 28, 2005 to form the village of Tōhō.
Government
Tōhō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of ten members. Tōhō, collectively with the city of Asakura and town of Chikuzen contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of the Fukuoka 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
Tōhō has a mainly rural economy based on agriculture. The village is also a production centre of Koishiwara ware.[4][5]
Education
Tōhō has one public combined elementary/junior high school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.
Transportation
Railways
Tōhō ceased to have passenger railway service when the lines of the JR KyushuHitahikosan Line suffered severe damage due to torrential rails in July 2017. The former rail service has been replaced by a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operation.