Sayama, Saitama


Sayama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 152,235, and a population density of 3110 persons per km². Its total area is.

Geography

Sayama is located in south-central Saitama Prefecture. The Iruma River flows through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

History

During the Kamakura period, the area developed as a post station on the Kamakura Kaidō highway, as the dividing point on the routes to Kōzuke Province and Shimotsuke Province.
The town of Irumagawa was established within Iruma District with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On July 1, 1954, Irumagawa merged with the neighboring villages of Mizutomi, Kashiwahara, Okutomi, Hirokane, and Irima to create the city of Sayama.
The city was the location of the Sayama Incident, a 1963 murder and trial which resulted in the false accusation and conviction of an innocent man, a member of the Burakumin minority group, of murder.

Economy

Sayama is one of the major industrial centers of Saitama Prefecture, although it is also a bedroom community with over 15% of its population commuting to Tokyo for work. The city, along with neighboring Iruma, is a well known tea growing region, producing Sayama Tea.

Honda assembly plant

Sayama is the location of an automobile assembly plant, which opened in 1964, for Honda/Acura vehicles, currently including the Fit, Honda Odyssey, CR-V, and RLX, and in the past the Accord, Prelude, Vigor, Inspire, Legend and Integra. The plant was briefly closed, but not damaged, following the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and restarted production in April 2011, albeit at lower production levels.

Other businesses

The Lotte candy and food processing company operates a facility in Sayama.
Dai Nippon Printing Company, Ltd. imaging media division operates a large coating facility in the city.
Sankyo Flute Company is located in Sayama.
Sayama Haselfoods is the only baklava manufacturing facility in Japan. Located in Aoyagi, Sayama, Haselfoods also imports food products from the Mediterranean.

Education

University

Railway

The Secom Rugguts rugby union team, and the Saitama Soccer Club of the Kantō Soccer League, are located in Sayama.

In popular culture