KITA-KYUSHU

(Japanese: North Kyushu), city, Fukuoka Prefecture (ken), Kyushu, Japan, on the Shimonoseki and Tsushima straits. It was created in 1963 by the amalgamation of the cities of Wakamatsu, Yawata (Yahata), Tobata, Kokura, and Moji, which now form the five wards of the 180-sq-mi (466-sq-km) city. Part of its long coastline is included in the Inland Sea National Park. Kita-Kyushu is one of Japan's leading manufacturing centres and is the one in which heavy industry is most prominent. The industrial nucleus, Yawata, specializes in iron and steel, heavy chemicals, cement, and glass. Wakamatsu produces metals, machinery, ships, and chemicals and is a major coal port for northern Kyushu. Tobata is one of the main deep-sea fishing bases of western Japan, has a large output of cotton textiles, and contains numerous metal industries. Kokura, a former arsenal town, specializes in iron and steel and machinery. Moji contains the city's major port facilities; it is a coal-shipping and fishing port and has oil-storage facilities. Most of Kita-Kyushu's urbanized area is on reclaimed coastland. Two undersea tunnels link the city with Shimonoseki, Honshu. The Wakato Grand Bridge spans the central industrial zone. Pop. (1983 est.) 1,063,600.