Saga Prefecture Article Index for
Saga
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Information About

Saga Prefecture




  Name Saga
  JapaneseName &#20304&#36032&#30476 ''Saga-ken''
  Symbol PrefSymbol-Sagapng
  Capital Saga (city)
  Region Kyushu
  Island Kyushu
  TotalArea 2,43931
  AreaRank 42<sup>nd</sup>
  PCWater 17
  PopDate October 1 , 2005
  Population 866,402
  PopRank 42<sup>nd</sup>
  Density 355
  Districts 7
  Municipalities 23
  ISOCode JP-41
  Flower Camphor blossom (''Cinnamomum camphora'')
  Tree Camphor tree (''Cinnamomum camphora'')
  Bird Black-billed Magpie (''Pica pica'')
  Map Japan_saga_map_smallpng
  Website wwwprefsagalgjp/<br/>at-contents/gaikoku/<br/>englishhtml


building at the Yoshinogari site]]
is located on Kyushu Island , Japan . The capital is the city of Saga .


HISTORY



GEOGRAPHY


Kyushu 's smallest Prefecture , Saga is located on the northwest corner of the island, bordered by the Genkai Sea and the Tsushima Strait to the north and the Ariake Sea to the south. Saga's close proximity to mainland Asia has made it an important gateway for the transmission of culture and trade through Japanese history.

Largely rural outside of the two large cities of Saga City and Karatsu , agricultural and forested lands comprise over 68% of the total prefectural land area.


Cities

10 cities are located on Saga Prefecture.


Towns and villages


These are the towns and villages in each District .


Mergers


A number of towns and villages in Saga have merged with larger neighboring cities, as part of the ongoing nation-wide process of Mergers And Dissolution Of Municipalities .


Historical mergers


  • The Village of Kirigo was divided into three parts at the turn of the year, from 31 December 1957 - 1 January 1958 . Two of these parts were absorbed into the Town of Genkai , and the City of Karatsu ; the third was merged with the Village of Irino to form the Town of Hizen .



Contemporary mergers




ECONOMY


Agricultural , Forestry , and coastal Fisheries products form a large portion of the prefectural economy. Regional agricultural specialties include Saga beef, onions, and strawberries. The prefecture is the largest producer of Mochigome (sticky rice) and Greenhouse Mandarin Oranges in Japan.

According to 2002 figures, regional trade Export s are focused primarily towards North America (29.3%), Western Europe (26.1%), and the Newly Industrializing Economies of South Korea , Taiwan , Hong Kong and Singapore (19.9%). Import s come principally from North America (40.6%), the ASEAN nations (23.3%), and the People's Republic Of China (12.2%).


DEMOGRAPHICS


As of 2002 , the census recorded a population 873,885 in Saga. Of these, 15.9% were aged 0-14, 62.7% were age 15-64, and 21.4% were over 65 years old. There were 3,596 foreigners (.4%) and 307 exchange students (.03%) living in the prefecture.


CULTURE

Arita, Imari and Karatsu are famous for the beautiful porcelain that is created there. The top porcelain houses in the country are located in these areas, including Imaemon, Genemon and Fukagawa.


TOURISM


Karatsu, with its fine Castle , is a popular tourist destination in Saga.

The remains of a Yayoi village in Yoshinogari also attract large numbers of sightseers.


PREFECTURAL SYMBOLS



MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

  • Comedian and J-Pop singer Hanawa became famous for comically singing about Saga Prefecture and its oddities.





EXTERNAL LINKS