Kawauchi, Fukushima

Kawauchi is located in the Abukuma Plateau of central Fukushima with a mean altitude of between 400 and 500 meters. North of Kawauchi, there is at {{coord|37|22|53|N|140|48|16|E|type:landmark_region:JP|display=inline|name=Kawauchi Substation}} a substation of Kita–Iwaki powerline, a 500 kV-line already designed for future 1100 kV operation.

• Fukushima Prefecture
• Iwaki
• Naraha
• Ōkuma
• Tamura
• Tomioka

Kawauchi has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kawauchi is 10.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1431 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.7 °C.[https://en.climate-data.org/asia/japan/fukushima/kawauchi-472547/ Kawauchi climate data]

{{Weather box

|width=auto

|collapsed = Y

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|location = Kawauchi (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present)

|Jan record high C = 15.7

|Feb record high C = 20.1

|Mar record high C = 23.0

|Apr record high C = 29.7

|May record high C = 32.2

|Jun record high C = 34.1

|Jul record high C = 35.7

|Aug record high C = 36.5

|Sep record high C = 33.6

|Oct record high C = 28.2

|Nov record high C = 24.1

|Dec record high C = 20.3

|Jan record low C = -17.7

|Feb record low C = -18.4

|Mar record low C = -17.0

|Apr record low C = -11.5

|May record low C = -3.1

|Jun record low C = 1.4

|Jul record low C = 6.2

|Aug record low C = 6.2

|Sep record low C = 1.0

|Oct record low C = -4.7

|Nov record low C = -9.2

|Dec record low C = -18.0

|Jan high C = 4.3

|Feb high C = 5.2

|Mar high C = 9.1

|Apr high C = 15.2

|May high C = 20.4

|Jun high C = 23.1

|Jul high C = 26.9

|Aug high C = 27.9

|Sep high C = 23.7

|Oct high C = 18.2

|Nov high C = 13.1

|Dec high C = 7.3

|Jan mean C = -0.5

|Feb mean C = 0.0

|Mar mean C = 3.3

|Apr mean C = 8.8

|May mean C = 14.0

|Jun mean C = 17.7

|Jul mean C = 21.7

|Aug mean C = 22.5

|Sep mean C = 18.6

|Oct mean C = 12.6

|Nov mean C = 6.9

|Dec mean C = 2.1

|Jan low C = -5.3

|Feb low C = -5.1

|Mar low C = -2.1

|Apr low C = 2.4

|May low C = 7.8

|Jun low C = 12.9

|Jul low C = 17.5

|Aug low C = 18.4

|Sep low C = 14.2

|Oct low C = 7.6

|Nov low C = 1.2

|Dec low C = -2.7

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 62.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 47.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 95.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 122.4

|May precipitation mm = 111.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 141.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 181.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 171.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 234.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 181.0

|Nov precipitation mm = 70.2

|Dec precipitation mm = 48.3

|year precipitation mm = 1484.1

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 5.9

|Feb precipitation days = 5.9

|Mar precipitation days = 9.1

|Apr precipitation days = 9.5

|May precipitation days = 10.4

|Jun precipitation days = 12.3

|Jul precipitation days = 13.8

|Aug precipitation days = 11.2

|Sep precipitation days = 12.1

|Oct precipitation days = 9.9

|Nov precipitation days = 7.0

|Dec precipitation days = 6.3

|Jan sun = 170.7

|Feb sun = 169.0

|Mar sun = 186.9

|Apr sun = 194.3

|May sun = 203.6

|Jun sun = 148.5

|Jul sun = 144.0

|Aug sun = 159.6

|Sep sun = 122.2

|Oct sun = 132.0

|Nov sun = 149.2

|Dec sun = 161.6

|year sun = 1943.4

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=36&block_no=1129&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = March 20, 2022}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=36&block_no=1129&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = March 20, 2022}}}}

Per Japanese census data,[https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-fukushima.php Kawauchi population statistics] the population of Kawauchi has declined steadily over the past 60 years and is now less than half what it was a century ago.

{{Historical populations

| 1920 | 5,573

| 1930 | 4,275

| 1940 | 4,540

| 1950 | 5,930

| 1960 | 5,966

| 1970 | 4,709

| 1980 | 4,132

| 1990 | 3,933

| 2000 | 3,384

| 2010 | 2,821

| 2020 | 2,044

|align = none

|footnote =

}}

The area of present-day Kawauchi was part of Mutsu Province. After the Meiji restoration, on April 1, 1889, the village of Kawauchi was created within Futaba District, Fukushima with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

{{see also| Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster }}

Kawauchi suffered moderate damage from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. However, the eastern portion of the village is located within the nominal 20-kilometer exclusion zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and as a result of wind patterns following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the entire population of the village was evacuated by government order by May 2011. A portion of the village was re-opened in March 2012."[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/30/japan-fukushima-evacuation-zone Japan reopens parts of Fukushima evacuation zone]", The Guardian, March 30, 2012.NHK-World (16 April 2012) [http://www.houseofjapan.com/local/gov-lifts-evacuation-order-for-minamisoma-city Govt. lifts evacuation order for Minamisoma City] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210101454/http://www.houseofjapan.com/local/gov-lifts-evacuation-order-for-minamisoma-city |date=2015-02-10 }}

In August 2014, the government divided the remaining portion of the village into two zones, and projected a lifting of the evacuation order for 275 residents in one of the zones in October.Myoraku, Asao "[http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201408180038 Second group of Fukushima residents given OK to return home in evacuation zone]", {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216003245/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201408180038 |date=2015-02-16 }} The Asahi Shimbun, August 18, 2014.

The ambient radiation dose was lower than that of the surrounding municipalities, and as of 2012, the average exposure dose among residents was reported to be below 1 millisievert per year.{{Cite journal|last1=Harada|first1=Kouji H.|last2=Niisoe|first2=Tamon|last3=Imanaka|first3=Mie|last4=Takahashi|first4=Tomoyuki|last5=Amako|first5=Katsumi|last6=Fujii|first6=Yukiko|last7=Kanameishi|first7=Masatoshi|last8=Ohse|first8=Kenji|last9=Nakai|first9=Yasumichi|last10=Nishikawa|first10=Tamami|last11=Saito|first11=Yuuichi|date=2014-03-11|title=Radiation dose rates now and in the future for residents neighboring restricted areas of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=111|issue=10|pages=E914–E923|doi=10.1073/pnas.1315684111|issn=0027-8424|pmc=3956155|pmid=24567380|bibcode=2014PNAS..111E.914H|doi-access=free}} By 2017, more than 80% of the villagers had returned, but many were older and the younger generation had a lower return rate than the whole.{{Cite web|title=NHK仙台放送局 ｜ 被災地からの声|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/sendai/hisaichikara/|access-date=2021-03-20|website=NHK仙台放送局 ｜ 被災地からの声|language=ja|archive-date=2021-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307081515/https://www.nhk.or.jp/sendai/hisaichikara/|url-status=dead}} It was reported that lifestyle-related diseases after the earthquake were increasing with the aging of the population.{{Cite journal|last1=Chung|first1=Yun-Shan|last2=Harada|first2=Kouji H.|last3=Igari|first3=Keiko|last4=Ishizuka|first4=Jinrou|last5=Koizumi|first5=Akio|date=December 2020|title=The incidence of diabetes among the non-diabetic residents in Kawauchi village, Fukushima, who experienced evacuation after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster|url= |journal=Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine|language=en|volume=25|issue=1|pages=13|doi=10.1186/s12199-020-00852-x|issn=1342-078X|pmc=7210664|pmid=32384869 |doi-access=free }} More than 100 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium has been detected in 76% of wild mushrooms collected between 2016 and 2019.{{Cite journal|last1=Cui|first1=Limeng|last2=Orita|first2=Makiko|last3=Taira|first3=Yasuyuki|last4=Takamura|first4=Noboru|date=2020-09-15|editor-last=Mousseau|editor-first=Tim A.|title=Radiocesium concentrations in mushrooms collected in Kawauchi Village five to eight years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=15|issue=9|pages=e0239296|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0239296|issn=1932-6203|pmc=7491737|pmid=32931520|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1539296C|doi-access=free}}

The economy of Kawauchi was formerly heavily dependent on agriculture.

Kawauchi had two high schools (one public, one private), one junior high school, two elementary schools, and a kindergarten in March 2011. After the evacuation and re-opening of the town both high schools were closed. The junior high school, 1 elementary school, and kindergarten remain open.

• Kawauchi is not served by any train stations.

• Kawauchi is served by bus, taking you both east and west.{{cite web | url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Kawauchi,+Fukushima/Funehiki+Station,+Kamitanaka+Funehikimachi+Funehiki,+Tamura,+Fukushima+963-4312/@37.3985871,140.6230265,12z/am=t/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x6020fa8bddfebda5:0x85279e3ccb041fdc!2m2!1d140.8093493!2d37.3376418!1m5!1m1!1s0x602066e9c9780ffb:0x2f1478fb4a8b1ae5!2m2!1d140.5745419!2d37.4431704!3e3 | title=Kawauchi to Funehiki Station }}

• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|399}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [http://www.kawauchimura.jp/ Official Website] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Fukushima}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Villages in Fukushima Prefecture