Kawaguchi, Saitama

Kawaguchi (川口市, Kawaguchi-shi) is a city located in southwestern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 January 2021, the city had an estimated population of 607,373 in 293,582 households and a population density of 9800 persons per km². The total area of the city is 61.95 square kilometres (23.92 sq mi). It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 8th most populated city (after passing Hachioji), and second largest in Saitama Prefecture, after eponymous Saitama.
Kawaguchi is located near the center of the Kantō Plain in southwestern Saitama Prefecture in east-central Honshu, and is bordered by the Tokyo wards of Kita-ku and Adachi-ku to the south. The city area is mostly flat and mainly residential except for the Omiya tableland, which occupies part of the north and east area. The Arakawa River runs across the border with Kita-ku to the south.
Saitama Prefecture
Tokyo Metropolis
Kawaguchi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with minimal snowfall. The average annual temperature is approximately 14.8 °C, and the city receives about 1,482 mm of rainfall annually, with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.2 °C.
As of 2010, the recorded population was 561,506. There had been a gradual increase in the number of non-Japanese residents living in the city because of the convenient location to Tokyo and relatively low rent. Now, the number of people from China is the largest, followed by Korea and Philippines.
Kawaguchi is a typical suburb city in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the population greatly changes between daytime and nighttime due to commute to big cities, especially Tokyo. Its population growth rate declined in the mid-1990s, but recent apartment construction boom in the city has helped to increase the population growth rate again. The number of children continues to decrease in accordance with the declining number of births; in 2009, 4,735 live births were recorded in the city, a marked decrease from the 1971 peak of 7,932 births. By contrast, the rate of people aged 65 or over is increasing, and stood at approximately 18.5% as of 1 January 2010, although this is still below the national average.
In 2015, the recorded population was 578,112 residents.
In June 2023, 41,471 people in Kawaguchi were not Japanese citizens; 23,637 people of them held Chinese citizenship.
After the last ice age, during early and middle Jōmon period, most of the area which is now Kawaguchi was under sea level except for the area which is now Omiya Tableland. Ancient peoples living in this area left several shell middens, in which shells, Jōmon pottery, and pit houses have been discovered by archaeologists. Many Kofun period barrows were also found in Kawaguchi, however many have also been destroyed by urban development. From the Heian period onwards, Kawaguchi was part of Musashi Province. The name "Kawaguchi" appears in the Kamakura period chronicle Gikeiki, but it is not proven that this name designated current area of Kawaguchi.
During the Edo period, Kawaguchi-juku developed as a post town and a local marketplace, with minimal industrial activity, on the Nikkō Onari Kaidō, a highway used by the Tokugawa shōgun and daimyō to visit Nikkō Tōshō-gū. Towards the Bakumatsu period and into the Meiji period, the demand for metal products increased. Because of proximity to Tokyo and convenient water transportation using Arakawa River, Kawaguchi became the center of metal casting industry, for which it has remained famous until modern times.
The town of Kawaguchi was established within Kitaadachi District, Saitama on 1 April 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
In the early 20th century, the city experienced rapid growth in metal casting production. Kawaguchi was elevated to city status on April 1, 1933 by the merger of Kawaguchi with the neighboring villages of Aoki, Minami-Hirayanagi and Yokozone. The city expanded by annexing the town of Hatogaya and villages of Shiba, Kamine and Shingō in 1940. However, Hatogaya separated from Kawaguchi in 1948 in accordance with the results of a referendum. After World War II, Kawaguchi diversified its industrial base by introducing textile manufacturing, precision instrument production, and brewing industries.
Kawaguchi has experienced many disasters, including flood, earthquake, and war. The Arakawa River has inundated Kawaguchi countless times and ruined agriculture, which resulted in famines. Also, the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake damaged buildings in Kawaguchi, killing 99 people.
Currently, the population of Kawaguchi continues to increase, and many tall apartment buildings are being built around train stations. This is because many casting foundries moved to suburban industrial parks and the former sites were turned into residential areas.
On 1 April 2001, Kawaguchi was designated a special city, with increased local autonomy.
On 11 October 2011, Kawaguchi re-absorbed the city of Hatogaya.
On 16 August 2018, the city of Kawaguchi and the City of Findlay, Ohio signed a "Friendship City Agreement". The city of Findlay houses seven Japanese businesses such as Bridgestone, Hitachi Astemo, Nissin Brake, and more.
Kawaguchi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 42 members. Kawaguchi contributes seven members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Saitama 2nd district and Saitama 15th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Shibafuji Elementary School's efforts to accommodate foreign students have gained attention from the Kawasaki Municipal Board of Education, which noted that the concentration of foreign students at this school is rare even across Japan. The municipal education board has supported the school’s initiatives, recognizing the unique challenges and solutions involved in integrating a growing number of foreign students.
Authorized by the Tokyo Bureau of Immigration Services Agency of Japan
Saitama Prefectural Board of Education [ja] operates:
The Kawaguchi Municipal Board of Education operates:
(all managed by the city)
(all managed by the city)
JR East – Keihin-Tohoku line
JR East – Musashino line
Saitama Rapid Railway Line
Kawaguchi has a highly developed bus network, mainly operated by Kokusai Kogyo Bus. The east region of the city is relatively far from train stations, many people use buses to the nearest train stations. Some bus routes have over 20 bus services an hour in the morning.