Trade & International Relations Bureau

Profile of Kumamoto Prefecture

Officially recognized by the Japanese central government in 1871, Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyushu Island in southern Japan. Kumamoto is a 1 and 1/2 hour flight from Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea and 2 and 1/2 hour drive from Nagasaki. It lies on the same latitude as Dallas, Texas and Baghdad, Iraq. The 2007 population estimate of the prefecture is about 1.83 million with the prefecture's capital Kumamoto City having 670,411 inhabitants. Kumamoto Prefecture is the 15th largest prefecture in Japan, with a land area of 2,892 square miles. This compares to Montana's land area of 145,556 square miles and Yellowstone National Park's 3,400 square miles.

Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Prefecture is blessed with lush vegetation with forests covering 62.8 percent of the landmass. Rolling highlands grace the northern part of the prefecture while the southeast is anchored by a mountain range reaching nearly 3000 feet in elevation. To the west, the Ariake and Yatsushiro sounds connect with the East China Sea. Kumamoto has two national parks, Aso Kuju National Park, which is the world's largest volcanic caldera, and Unzen-Amakusa National Park, which encompasses more than 120 islands of various sizes in the East China Sea.

Service, manufacturing and small business sectors have been Kumamoto's engine of growth in the last decade. Although agriculture has continued to decline, it is still a strong force in the prefecture's economy and politics, with the percentage of workers employed in agricultural industries over national averages. Kumamoto is famous for its oranges, watermelons, tomatoes, and rush. During the 1970's and 80's, Japan's manufacturing sector experienced rapid growth that propelled the country into the ranks of the industrialized world. Kumamoto was not left out of the rush towards manufacturing as several large firms set up production plants in the prefecture. Largely as a result of the manufacturing boom, per capita income in Kumamoto nearly tripled from 1975 through 1988.

Picture of Lake

Kumamoto is home to a number of famous Japanese manufacturing companies with production plants in Kumamoto. Products produced in the prefecture range from beverages, boats, motorcycles, and metal products to integrated circuits, car parts, and computer parts. Kyushu is referred to as Japan's "silicon island," because of the area's significant production of integrated circuits and related computer products. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Honda Motor Company Limited, Kyushu Matsushita Electric Company Limited, Nissan Motor Company Limited, Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, NEC Kyushu Limited, Mitsui & Company Limited, Yamaha Marine Kyushu Company Limited, Fujitsu Kumamoto Systems Engineering, Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation, and Suntory Limited all maintain operations in Kumamoto.

In the fiscal year of 2007, six pivotal tasks are specified as follows.
1) Vitalizing every industry,
2) Establishing a safe community and environmental basis for each and every citizen's life,
3) Strengthening the education and culture to foster enriched humanity and abilities,
4) Building a welfare society where all the citizens can participate and mutually support each other,
5) Establishing the infrastructure contributing to the future,
6) Creating a beautiful Kumamoto Prefecture that promotes environmental conservation.

Almost fifty percent of Kumamoto's annual budget comes from prefectural taxes, local bonds, service fees, and other miscellaneous charges collected by the prefectural government. The remaining half is usually provided by the national government as local allocation tax and national treasury disbursement, which comprises 43% of its revenue in FY 2007.

The prefectural government allocates approximately 3 quarters of its budget to expenditure for education, national debt service, public works, public welfare, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries. When the budget is divided by the number of population in the prefecture, the per capita expenditure is approximately 400,000 yen, which is $3361 ($1=119 yen).

As for the prefecture's payroll in 2005, Kumamoto employed 25,669 government workers. Of these, teachers represented the largest class of workers with 16,493 employees. In 2005, Prefectural personnel (5,154) and members of the police force (3,405) comprised the remaining class of workers. In 2005, Kumamoto has 749 schools (grade E-12) comprising 226,192 students. The government also runs 18 schools for the blind, deaf and others with various disabilities. Currently, some 1,364 students are enrolled in their schools.

Figures to note:
Dollar values are based on a 119 Yen to $1.00 exchange rate (4/11/07)

-2003 per capita income, 2,422,000 yen ($ 20,353)
-2003 gross prefectural product, 5.75 trillion yen ($48.3 billion)
-2007 prefectural budget, 731.9 billion yen ($ 6.15 billion)
-2006 prefectural budget, 719.7 billion yen ($ 6.05 billion)
-2007 prefectural budget on Education 174 billion yen ($ 1.46 billion)


Kumamoto's elected legislative branch is composed of a governor and a 49-member unicameral legislature. The two Lieutenant Governors, Treasurer and Superintendent of Schools are appointed by the governor and approved by the legislature. The legislature meets in full session every three months for a two-week period. In Kumamoto's legislature, five political parties are represented along with six independents. The Liberal Democratic Party currently carries the majority with 25 members.

The Kumamoto Gubernatorial election was held April 4, 2004. Governor Shiotani stood for election to a second term in office. Shiotani was elected as Kumamoto's first female governor, and the second female to be elected governor in Japan. As of April 2007, the leaders of Kumamoto's government are as follows:

Governor Mrs. Yoshiko Shiotani Elected
Lieutenant Governor Mr. Hiromasa Yasuda, Appointed by Governor
Lieutenant Governor Mr. Kazuo Kanazawa Appointed by Governor
Treasurer Mr. Katsuto Furuta Appointed by Governor
Superintendent Mr. Sumio Kakitsuka Appointed by Governor
Legislative Chairman Mr. Torami Murakami


Recent and Upcoming Developments:

-In November of 2007, Kumamoto Prefecture hosts The 31st Tree Raising Festival in Aso City.
-On July 12 and 13, 2007, the Conference of Governors is held in Kumamoto City.
-In 2007, Kumamoto city hosted The National Universal Design Convention.
-Chaku Chaku Project completed making Higashi-bypass a 6-lane-road at the beginning of 2006.
-The 2006 World Conference on Women and Sports in Kumamoto was held at the Kumamoto Nikko Hotel and the Kumamoto prefectural Community Center PAREA in May of 2006.
-In 2011, Kushu shinkansen (bullet train) is scheduled to begin full service along the entire line from Hakata Station, Fukuoka, to Kagoshima Chuo Station.