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Yokkaichi
四日市市

Yokkaichi's location in Mie, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Mie
Physical characteristics
Area	205.53 km² (79.4 sq mi)
Population (as of 2007)
Total	313,403
Location	34°58′N, 136°37′E
Symbols
Tree	Camphor tree
Flower	Salvia
Bird	Black-headed Gull
Yokkaichi Government Office
Mayor	Tetsuo Inoue
Address	〒510-8601 1-5 Suwa-chō, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie-ken
Phone number	+81-59-354-8244
Official website: City of Yokkaichi

Yokkaichi (四日市市, Yokkaichi-shi^?, lit. "four days market") is a city located in Mie, Japan.

As of 2007, the city has an estimated population of 313,403. The total area is 205.53 km².

The closest major city is Nagoya in Aichi prefecture.

It is a manufacturing center that produces banko ware (a kind of porcelain), automobiles, cotton textiles, chemicals, tea, cement, and computer parts such as DRAM by Toshiba subsidiary Yokkaichi Toshiba Electronics.

In Azuchi-Momoyama period, the port was developed and a regular market was open on 4, 14, 24 in each month. Thus, the city is named Yokkaichi because "yokkaichi" means "market on fourth day." In Edo period, Yokkaichi-juku was the forty-third station on the Tōkaidō.

Yokkaichi's port advanced remarkably during the Meiji period, primarily under the guidance of Inaba Sanuemon, a resident merchant interested increasing trade into Yokkaichi and the Ise area by modernizing the port facilities. Started in 1872, the project took 12 years to complete due to typhoons and difficulties in financing the project. This led to the port city being designated an Official International Port in 1899. The primary trade items shipped through Yokkaichi were originally seed oil, Banko ceramics, and Ise tea; but now it has developed into a port that now handles cotton, wool, glass, and heavy equipment.

The city was designated a 'modern city' on August 1, 1897. From 1960 to 1972, the city residents suffered health problems caused by the emission of SOx into the atmosphere from local oil chemical plants. In Japan, a disease called Yokkaichi zensoku (Yokkaichi Asthma) derives its name from the city, and it is considered one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.

Downtown Yokkaichi

Yokkaichi is served by both JR and Kintetsu rail lines.

The Higashi Meihan Highway (東名阪自動車道), which leads to Nagoya, was built along the foot of Suzuka Mountains.

Yokkaichi Port is the secondary port in Ise Bay. Ferries for the Chūbu Centrair International Airport depart from there.

Yokkaichi has 2 sister cities and 1 sister port.

• Long Beach, California(USA)- October 7, 1963
• Tianjin(China)- October 28, 1980
• Sydney Port(Australia)- October 24, 1968

• Kiyu - manga artist
• Goseki Kojima - manga artist
• Miki Mizuno - actress
• Fumio Niwa - author
• Toshiya Fujita - movie director
• Katsuya Okada - former president of the Democratic Party of Japan
• Takuya Okada - chairman emeritus of AEON Group
• Katsuaki Watanabe - president of Toyota Motor Corporation
• Yumehito of Ayabie - musician

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yokkaichi, Mie

• Yokkaichi official website in Japanese
• Yokkaichi International Association in English
• Hiroshige prints of the Tokaido - Station 44 Yokkaichi

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