Updated on: January 23, 2007 12:00
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An Overview of Hamamatsu City
Hamamatsu is located on the Pacific Ocean side of Japan’s main island, about half way between Tokyo and Osaka. The name Hamamatsu is composed of the Chinese characters for “beach” and “pine trees”, well describing the long, sandy EnShuu beach nearby and the many pine trees dotted along the city’s streets. In fine weather Mt. Fuji can sometimes be glimpsed and the city is close to the large salt-water Hamana lake, the Tenryu river, and the beautiful Japanese Alps.
The city has a population of 820,000 (Nov 2006) and is home to many world famous companies including YAMAHA, SUZUKI and HONDA.
The features of Hamamatsu city
Partly as a result of the large number of factories based in the area, Hamamatsu has become home to many Brazilian and Peruvian immigrant workers with Japanese ancestry. In Japan these workers have become known as “new-comers”, to distinguish them from older waves of immigrants, such as those from Korea and China.
Immigrants now account for nearly 3.9% of the total population of the city, or approximately 31,600 people. This means that nationally Hamamatsu is the city with the highest proportion of foreign residents and as a result Hamamatsu is facing firsthand many of the immigrant labor issues confronting contemporary Japan.
Two of the most serious of these include a) barriers to accessing proper health care and b) problems regarding education provision for their children.
Official Website of This City
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