is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, Kumamoto Prefecture to the south, and Ōita Prefecture to the southeast.
Fukuoka is the capital and largest city of Fukuoka Prefecture, and the largest city on Kyūshū, with other major cities including Kitakyushu, Kurume, and Ōmuta. Fukuoka Prefecture is located at the northernmost point of Kyūshū on the Kanmon Straits, connecting the Tsushima Strait and the Seto Inland Sea across from Yamaguchi Prefecture on the island of Honshu, and extends south towards the Ariake Sea.
History
Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.
Shrines and temples
Kōra taisha, Sumiyoshi-jinja, and Hakozaki-gū are the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) in the prefecture.
Geography
Fukuoka Prefecture faces the sea on three sides, bordering Saga, Ōita, and Kumamoto prefectures and facing Yamaguchi Prefecture across the Kanmon Straits.
As of 1 April 2012, 18% of the land area of the prefecture was designated as natural parks: Setonaikai National Park, Genkai, Kitakyūshū, and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan quasi-national parks, and Chikugogawa, Chikuhō, Dazaifu, Sefuri Raizan, and Yabegawa Prefectural Natural Parks.
Fukuoka includes the two largest cities on Kyūshū, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, and much of Kyūshū's industry. It also includes a number of small islands near the north coast of Kyūshū.
Cities
Twenty-nine cities are in Fukuoka Prefecture:
Asakura
Buzen
Chikugo
Chikushino
Dazaifu
Fukuoka (capital) Fukutsu Iizuka Itoshima Kama Kasuga Kitakyūshū Koga Kurume Miyama Miyawaka Munakata Nakagawa Nakama Nōgata Ogōri Ōkawa Ōmuta Ōnojō Tagawa Ukiha Yame Yanagawa Yukuhashi
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Asakura District
Chikuzen
Tōhō
Chikujō District
Chikujō
Kōge
Yoshitomi
Kaho District
Keisen
Kasuya District
Hisayama
Kasuya
Sasaguri
Shime
Shingū
Sue
Umi
Kurate District
Kotake
Kurate
Mii District
Tachiarai
Miyako District
Kanda
Miyako
Mizuma District
Ōki
Onga District
Ashiya
Mizumaki
Okagaki
Onga
Tagawa District
Aka
Fukuchi
Itoda
Kawara
Kawasaki
Ōtō
Soeda
Yame District
Hirokawa
Mergers
Economy
Fukuoka prefecture's main cities form one of Japan's main industrial centers, accounting for nearly 40% of the economy of Kyūshū. GDP exceeds 154 billion US dollars, comparable to that of a medium-sized country. Major industries include automobiles, semiconductors, and steel. Fukuoka prefecture is where tire manufacturer Bridgestone and consumer electronics chain Best Denki were founded.
Well-known company headquartered in Fukuoka are as follows: TOTO LTD. (founded in 1917) Yasukawa Electric Corporation (founded in 1915) PIETRO Co.,Ltd. (founded in 1980) ZENRIN CO., LTD. (founded in 1949) SANIX INCORPORATED (founded in 1975) HASEGAWA Co.Ltd. (founded in 1929) Plenus Co., LTD. (founded in 1976) LEVEL-5 Inc. (founded in 1998) Star Flyer Inc. (founded in 2002) DAIICHI KOUTSU SANGYO Co.,Ltd. (founded in 1960) Shabondama Soap Co., Ltd. (founded in 1910) MoonStar Company. (founded in 1873) Shinoken Group. Co., Ltd. (founded in 1990)
Universities
One of Japan's top 5 universities, Kyushu University, is located in Fukuoka.
Demographics
According to October 2018 estimates, the population in Fukuoka Prefecture reached 5,111,494 inhabitants, making the prefecture the 9th most populated of Japan's 47 prefectures. It is one of the few prefectures with a steadily increasing population.