Kirishima, Kagoshima

The former Kokubu-Hayato area was designated as a "Technopolis" as high tech industries such as Sony and Kyocera opened facilities in the city.

Kirishima has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 25 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kagoshima 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Agriculture still plays a major role, with main specialty products: strawberries, tomatoes, burdock, green onions, buckwheat, leaf tobacco, mandarin oranges, tea, chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, beef cattle, eel, etc.

Taking advantage of the geographical conditions resulting from the opening of Kagoshima Airport and the Kyushu Expressway, the city has encouraged high-tech industries such as Sony and Kyocera to build large scale production plants in the area.

On the other hand, Kirishima is also a tourist destination, noted for its volcanoes, hot springs and historic sites.

An image taken from the International Space Station showing Kirishima and its surroundings on January 10, 2013
Kirishima City Hall