| The Japanese city of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest of Japan's islands. It is most known throughout the world as the first city in history subjected to nuclear warfare with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II by the United States of America.
Hiroshima gained municipality status on April 1, 1889 and was designated on April 1, 1980 by government ordinance. The city's current mayor is Tadatoshi Akiba who assumed the office on February 23, 1999.
Hiroshima (which means wide island in Japanese) is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. Enkogawa and Kyobashigawa are river channels that pass through the eastern side of the city. The main downtown area lies between Kyobashigawa (on the east) and Motoyasugawa (on the west). Downtown districts include Nagarekawa, which is a popular entertainment district, though includes some dodgy sections. Naka-ku is the business and shopping central district and the main shopping areas run along and out from the covered mall, called Hondori, which is located to the west, between Nagarekawa and the Peace Park. Aioi-dori goes past the main department stores and the A-bomb (Genbaku) dome, it is a primary east-west road through the center of Hiroshima. Hatchobori is located to the north of Aioi-dori, and north of Hondori and Nagarekawa. Hiroshima Castle is a major landmark, to the north of Jonan-dori. Hiroshima's baseball stadium and arena (only at this location until 2008), as well as Chuo Park are located in the area between Hiroshima Castle and the A-Bomb Dome. Heiwa-o-dori (Peace Boulevard) is a major east-west artery through Hiroshima. The Peace Park in Hiroshima is located between Motoyasugawa and Kyuohotagawa. Eba is an area of Hiroshima, located on the west side of the city, between Kyuohotagawa (Honkawa) and Tenmagawa.
The city is almost entirely flat and barely above sea level. Hiroshima is sandwiched between the Chugoku Mountains to the north and the sea to the south. Numerous small islands are located in Hiroshima Bay, including Miyajima, Etajima, and Ninoshima. Hiroshima is located in a seismically active region. On March 24, 2001, a major earthquake with magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale had its epicenter in Hiroshima Bay. Major earthquakes previously included one with magnitude 7.2 in 1857, another in 1905, and one in 1949 with a magnitude of 6.2. Hiroshima has mild winters with very little snowfall, hot and humid summers (up to 43 degrees C in August,2007), and generally abundant rainfall.
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