Saga Prefecture

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.

Related Topics:
Kyushu - Prefecture - Genkai Sea - Tsushima Strait - Ariake Sea

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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.

Related Topics:
Saga City - Karatsu

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Cities

• Imari
• Karatsu
• Kashima
• Ogi
• Saga (capital)
• Takeo
• Taku
• Tosu

Towns and villages

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These are the towns and villages in each district.

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Mergers and changes of municipalities

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.

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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

• The Towns of Shiroishi, Fukudomi and Ariake were merged to form the new Town of Shiroishi on 1 January 2005.
• The City of Karatsu, the Towns of Hamatama, Kyuragi, Ochi, Hizen, Chinzei and Yobuko and the Village of Kitahata were merged to form the new City of Karatsu on 1 January 2005, becoming Saga Prefecture's largest city.

:The Merger Council of Karatsu and Higashimatsuura (in Japanese)

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• The Towns of Ogi, Ashikari, Mikatsuki and Ushizu were merged to form the City of Ogi on 1 March 2005. The District of Ogi ceased to exist at the moment of this merger.

:The Merger Council of Ogi District (in Japanese)

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• The Towns of Nakabaru, Kitashigeyasu and Mine were merged to form the Town of Miyaki on 1 March 2005.

:The Merger Council of Eastern Saga (in Japanese)

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Future planned mergers

• The City of Saga, the Towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji and the Village of Mitsuse are planned to be merged to form the new City of Saga on 1 October 2005, which will then supplant Karatsu as the prefecture's largest metropolitan area.

:The Merger Council of Saga, Morodomi, Yamato, Fuji and Mitsuse (in Japanese)

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• The Towns of Ureshino and Shiota are to be merged to form the City of Ureshino on 1 January 2006.

:The Merger Council of Ureshino and Shiota (in Japanese)

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• The City of Karatsu is scheduled to absorb the Village of Nanayama on 1 January 2006.
• The City of Takeo is scheduled to absorb the Towns of Yamauchi and Kitagata to form the new City of Takeo on 1 March 2006.
• The Town of Arita is scheduled to absorb the Town of Nishiarita on 1 March 2006.
• The Town of Mitagawa and the Village of Higashisefuri are scheduled to merge to form the Town of Yoshinogari on 1 March 2006.
• The Towns of Kanzaki and Chiyoda together with the Village of Sefuri are scheduled to merge to form the City of Kanzaki on 20 March 2006.