Fukuoka Prefecture Tagawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Ita and Yugeta were established on May 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Tagawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The city still has a large cement industry, and the site of the former coal mines has been developed into a tourist attraction and an industrial park, attracting glass bottle production, food processing (Tirol (チロル) miniature chocolates are manufactured in Tagawa.)