[2] Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Murayama has declined steadily over the past 70 years and is now less than it was a century ago.

The city of Murayama was established on April 1, 1954 with the merger of Tateoka with the villages of Nishigo, Okura, Tozawa, Okubo and Fumoto.

Murayama became the registered host town for the Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Higashine has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 16 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Yamagata District 2 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.