Higashiōmi-shi

• Name — Higashiōmi • Settlement Type — City • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Japan • Subdivision Type1 — Region • Subdivision Name1 — Kansai • Subdivision Type2 — Prefecture • Subdivision Name2 — Shiga • Subdivision Type3 — District • Extinct Title — Now part of • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Masakiyo Ogura • Leader Title1 — Vice Mayor • Unit Pref — Metric • Area Total Km2 — 388.37 • Population Total — 113,229 • Population As Of — September 1, 2021 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Timezone1 — JST • Utc Offset1 — +09:00 • Blank1 Name Sec1 — Phone number • Blank1 Info Sec1 — 0749-30-6111 • Blank Name Sec1 — City hall address • Blank Info Sec1 — 10-5, Yōkaichi Midorimachi, Higashiōmi-shi, Shiga-ken 527-8527 • Blank Name Sec2 — Climate • Blank Info Sec2 — Cfa • Illustration — Higashiomi City Hall • Illustration — Yōkaichi Kite Festival

Higashiōmi is located in east-central Shiga Prefecture, with a small shoreline the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, and extending inland to the Suzuka Mountains and the border with Mie Prefecture. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Suzuka Quasi-National Park.

Mie Prefecture • Inabe • Komono Shiga Prefecture • Aishō • Hikone • Hino • Kōka • Ōmihachiman • Ryūō • Taga

Higashiōmi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Higashiōmi is 12.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1673 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.1 °C. The highest recorded temperature was 38.8 °C (July 26, 2014) and the lowest was -11.6 °C (January 31, 1982).

Per Japanese census data, the population of Higashiōmi has recently plateaued after several decades of growth.

Higashiōmi is part of ancient Ōmi Province. Portions of the area were under the control of Yamakami Domain, a 13,000 koku fudai territory during the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. With the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the town of Yōkaichi was established within Gamō District, Shiga. Yōkaichi merged with the villages of Hirata, Ichinobe, and Tamano in Gamō District, and Misono and Takebe from Kanzaki District and was elevated to city status on August 15, 1954. The city of Higashiōmi was established on February 11, 2005, from the merger of Yōkaichi with the towns of Eigenji and Gokashō (both from Kanzaki District), and the towns of Aitō and Kotō (both from Echi District). On January 1, 2006, the town of Notogawa (from Kanzaki District), and the town of Gamō (from Gamō District) were merged into Higashiōmi.

Higashiōmi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 25 members. Higashiōmi, together with the town of Ryūō, contributes three members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Shiga 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan, and is represented by Kenichiro Ueno.

The economy of Higashiōmi is centered on agriculture and light manufacturing. There are several industrial parks in the city. Murata Manufacturing, Kyocera, Panasonic, Suntory and Toppan have large factories in the city.

Higashiōmi has 22 public elementary schools and ten public middle schools operated by the city government. There are five public high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The Biwako-Gakuin University, a private's university with associated junior college, is also located in Higashiōmi.

JR West – Biwako Line • Notogawa Ohmi Railway – Main Line • Gokashō - Kawabe-no-mori - Yōkaichi - Nagatanino - - Kyocera-mae - - Asahi Ōtsuka - Asahino Ohmi Railway – Yōkaichi Line • Yōkaichi - Shin-Yōkaichi - - Ichinobe -

• Meishin Expressway • Route • Route • Route • Route

• Eigen-ji, noted Rinzai Zen temple • Hyakusai-ji, noted Tendai temple, National Historic Site • Yōkaichi Kite Festival • Illustration — Kondo-cho, Gokasho • Illustration — Yōkaichi Giant Kite Festival held in May • Illustration — Aga-jinja Shrine or Tarobogu Shrine • Illustration — Eigen-ji Temple

Higashiōmi maintains the following sister city relationships. • China Changde, Hunan, China, since August 15, 1994 • Korea Jangam-myeon, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, since November 2, 1992 • Marquette, Michigan, United States, since August 13, 1979, renewed 2005 • Sweden Rättvik, Dalarna County, Sweden, since November 1, 1994 • Canada Taber, Alberta, Canada, since March 27, 1981 • Korea Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, since May 26, 2001

• Tadayoshi Ichida, politician • Mitsunori Okamoto, politician • Masayoshi Takemura, politician