Shimane Prefecture

The Shimane Prefecture (岛 根 県Japanese, Shimane - ken) is a prefecture of Japan. It is located in the Chūgoku region on the island of Honshu. Seat of the prefectural government is Matsue.

Geography

Shimane is next to the adjacent prefecture Tottori one of the most rural and least populated prefectures of Japan. Shimane extends roughly from southwest to northeast, and is separated from the economically much more significant east coast by the Chugoku Mountains. The prefecture is located on the Sea of ​​Japan and bordered to the south by the Yamaguchi Prefecture, and on the east by the Hiroshima Prefecture. To the northeast lies the Tottori Prefecture. Most of the major towns in the prefecture located on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, to which also runs the north-south running main traffic artery of the prefecture. To the territory of the prefecture also includes some 70 kilometers off the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan lying Oki Islands.

Policy

  • LDP: 22
  • DPJ: 9
  • CPY ( NI): 2
  • Non-attached Members: 3

Since 2007 december Mizoguchi is governor of Shimane, he was confirmed in the unified regional elections in April 2011 for a second term. The Parliament is also selected with uniform regional elections, although there were 2011 26 candidates for the 37 seats unopposed and were thus elected without a vote, including 14 for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP ). After the election of the remaining members, the LDP was with 18 mandates clearly strongest party, the Democratic Party won five seats, four of them without a vote.

In the national parliament Shimane is represented by two directly elected deputies in Shūgiin and one each election in Sangiin. The after the electoral reform of the 1990s, originally three, now two Shūgiin constituencies were also in the 2012 election as continuously since 1996 to the LDP, namely to Hiroyuki Hosoda, son of traffic and of Defense Kichizo Hosoda, and Wataru Takeshita, brother of former party chairman Noboru Takeshita. In Sangiin sit after the elections in 2010 and 2013 for the Liberal Democrats Shimane Kazuhiko Aoki, son and successor of Mikio Aoki, and the longtime Prefecture MPs Saburō Shimada.

Shimane is financially weakest prefectures in the country and can only cover about a quarter of its theoretically calculated financial needs from their own resources.

Tourism

Tourist main attraction in Shimane is located near the city of Izumo Shrine Izumo Taisha, one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan. In the area of the prefecture there are also some resorts that are a magnet for skiers and snowboarders from nearby Hiroshima in winter.

Administrative divisions

Independent cities (市shi )

  • Tokureishi ( "Special City " ) Matsue, seat of the prefectural government
  • Gotsu
  • Hamada
  • Izumo
  • Masuda
  • Oda
  • Unnan
  • Yasugi

Counties (郡, gun)

List of districts of Shimane Prefecture and their towns (町, chō ) and villages (村, mura ).

  • Iishi Iinan
  • Tsuwano
  • Yoshika
  • Nita Okuizumo
  • Kawamoto
  • Misato
  • Onan
  • Oki Ama
  • Chibu
  • Nishinoshima
  • Okinoshima

Izumo Shrine

Taikodani Inari Shrine in Tsuwano

Hinomisaki Lighthouse

View from the Lighthouse Hinomisaki

Matsue castle

Administrative centre Matsue, Shimane Municipalities of Japan Tree Pinus thunbergii Fish Sea of Japan Japanese Communist Party Cities of Japan Hamada, Shimane Izumo (Shimane) Masuda, Shimane Unnan, Shimane Yasugi, Shimane List of villages in Japan Okinoshima (Shimane)
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