Nagasaki, Japan

Abstract Located in the western part of Kyushu Island of the Isles of Japan and in the southern part of Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki City is home of the prefectural government of Nagasaki and a center of economic activity: industry, business, and trade. It extends 25 km from east to west and 25.9 km from north to south, for a total area of 240.43 sq km. According to the October 1995 census (Statistical Bureau, Prime Minister’s Office), the population of Nagasaki City is 438,724 (204,252 men and 234,472 women), and the population of Nagasaki prefecture is about 1,545,000. In the 17th century, an isolationist policy closed Japan to the outside world. Only the Dutch and the Chinese were allowed to carry on very restricted trade with Japan and only through Nagasaki harbor. Thus, for nearly 250 years, Nagasaki was Japan’s only window to foreign culture. Even after the opening of Japan in the mid-19th century, Nagasaki remained an important entry point for foreign culture and technology. Among its innovations were a training school for sailors and the first steel ingot factory, which marked the beginning of modern technological industry in Japan and set the stage for the development of Japan’s major industries.