Yamamoto is located in south-east Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan.

[2] Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Yamamoto peaked at around the year 2000, and has dropped rapidly since, especially since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.

Yamamoto was devastated by the 9–9.1 moment magnitude scale (Mw) 2011 Tōhoku earthquake (Shindo 6+) off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March 2011 and resultant tsunami.

Yamamoto has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members.

In terms of national politics, the town is part of Miyagi 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.