Yokosuka, Kanagawa

Yokosuka (Japanese: 横須賀市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan.

It is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay on the Miura Peninsula, and stretches across the peninsula to Sagami Bay. Its neighbors areYokohama, Miura, Hayama, and Zushi.

History

In 1853, United States naval officer Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with his fleet of black ships and came ashore near present day Yokosuka, leading to the opening of diplomatic and trade relations between Japan and the United States.

The Yokosuka Iron Foundry was established on the site of the city in 1865, and the French engineer Léonce Verny spent the next ten years supervising the development of shipbuilding facilities.

The construction of the arsenal was the central point of a global modern infrastructure, that was to prove an important first step for the modernization of Japan's industry. Modern buildings, the Hashirimizu waterway, foundries, brick factories, technical schools to train Japanese technicians were established.

The city itself was incorporated in 1907.

Yokosuka was to become one of the main arsenals of the Imperial Japanese Navy into the 20th century, in which were built battleships such as Yamashiro, and aircraft carriers such as Hiryu and Shokaku. Major Naval aircraft were also designed at the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal.

Yokosuka today

Yokosuka now is home to one of the biggest military seaports shared by the United States Navy and the Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan.

Current prime minister Junichiro Koizumi was born in Yokosuka and attended Yokosuka High School.

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 431,332 and a density of 4,286.74 persons per km². It covers an area of 100.62 km².

Yokosuka in popular culture

Yokosuka is well-known as the setting of the Sega video game, Shenmue.

External links

• Official website in English
• Yokosuka U.S. Navy base official website