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

After the Meiji restoration, the village of Tarumizu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

In February 1944, the Tarumizu Maru, a passenger ferry, set sail for Kagoshima and capsized within minutes.

[5] Tarumizu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members.

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