Suzuka

Geography

Suzuka is in northeastern Mie Prefecture, in northern Kii Peninsula, bordered by Ise Bay to the east. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park and the Suzuka Quasi-National Park.

Climate

Suzuka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Suzuka is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1737 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics

The population of Suzuka has more than doubled over the 50-year period 1960-2010.

History

Suzuka, as a place name, is mentioned in the Nara period chronicle Nihon Shoki. The ancient Tōkaidō passed through Suzuka, and the Nara-period provincial capital was within its borders. During the Sengoku period, the area was controlled by Oda Nobutaka, the third son of Oda Nobunaga, who ruled from Kanbe Castle. During the Edo period, much of the area was under the control of the 15,000 koku Kanbe Domain, ruled by the Honda clan from 1732 until the Meiji restoration in 1871. During this period, two post stations were within the modern city limits: Ishiyakushi-juku and Shōno-juku, which prospered due to pilgrimage traffic to the Ise Grand Shrine.

After the start of the Meiji period, the area was organized as part of Suzuka District in 1889 and the town of Kanbe was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On December 1, 1942, Kanbe merged with the villages of Shirako, Inau, Iino, Kawano, Ichinomiya, Mida, Tanagaki, Wakamatsu, Ko, Shono, Takatsuse, Makita, and Ishiyakushi to form the city of Suzuka. The city further expanded in 1954 by annexing the villages of Sakae, Amana and Aikawa and portions of neighboring Kameyama.

Government

Suzuka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 32 members. Suzuka contributes four members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Suzuka boasts a significant industrial market, having major factories for Sharp and Honda in its bounds. These companies outsource part of their labor to South American nationals to secure a contract-based workforce.

Although the Japanese government encourages mandatory English-language education across the nation, in Suzuka many courses are offered by private cram schools (juku) and by publicly funded institutions supporting Portuguese and Spanish. In a controversial move, the city's governing body, from April 2004, requires all garbage information and local signage to be in Japanese and Portuguese (but not English).

Education

Colleges and universities

Suzuka International University

Suzuka Junior College

Suzuka National College of Technology

Suzuka University of Medical Science

Primary and secondary education

Suzuka has 30 public elementary schools and ten public middle school operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Mie Prefectural Department of Education. There are also one private middle school and one private high school, and the prefecture also operates one special education school for disabled people.

International schools

International schools: Escola Alegria de Saber (エスコーラ・アレグリア・デ・サベール) - Brazilian school Formerly Suzuka had another Brazilian school: Escola Sol Nascente.

Transport

Railway

JR Tōkai – Kansai Main Line

Kawano - Kasado

Ise Railway – Ise Line

Suzuka – Tamagaki – Suzuka Circuit Inō – Tokuda – Nakaseko

Kintetsu Railway - Nagoya Line

Nagonoura - Mida - Ise-Wakamatsu - Chiyozaki - Shiroko - Tsuzumigaura - Isoyama

Kintetsu Railway - Suzuka Line

Ise-Wakamatsu - Yanagi - Suzukashi - Mikkaichi - Hiratachō

Highway

Higashi-Meihan Expressway

Shin-Meishin Expressway

National Route 1

National Route 23

National Route 25

National Route 306

Local attractions

Ise Kokubun-ji ruins, National Historic Site

Ise Kokufu ruins, National Historic Site

Ōzuka Kofun, National Historic Site

Sports

Mie Honda Heat – rugby club

Atletico Suzuka Club – association football club

Motor racing circuit

Suzuka Circuit is a Honda-owned racetrack. It has been the home of F1's Japanese Grand Prix since 1987, with the exception of four years (2007 and 2008, when the race was held at the Fuji Speedway, as well as 2020 and 2021, when Japan did not host a Grand Prix race). It is the only figure-eight circuit in the championship, and is very popular with the drivers, in spite of its numerous difficult bends. Located next to the circuit is the Honda Safety Riding/Driving School, where thousands of car and motorcycle drivers have been trained, including many police officers and instructors throughout the world.

Sister cities

Le Mans, Maine, France, since May 27, 1990

Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States, since August 7, 1991

Notable people

Miwa Asao, beach volleyball player

Hideo Fukuyama, racing driver

Reo Hatate, professional footballer

Eisuke Nakanishi, professional soccer player

Takafumi Ogura, professional soccer player

Saitō Ryokuu, Meiji period author

Sumie Sakai, professional wrestler

Nobutsuna Sasaki, author, poet

Nobuhide Tachi, racing driver

Keisuke Tanimoto, professional baseball player

Jo Shimoda, professional motocross rider