Zama, Kanagawa

Located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Zama is approximately 50 kilometers from the center of Tokyo and 20 kilometers from Yokohama. It is divided into an alluvial lowland along the Sagami River in the west and a plateau belonging to the Sagamino Plateau (Sagamihara Plateau) in the east. The Hikiji River, Mekushiri River, and the Hato River flow through Zama. The city is well known for its drinking water, which is cold in the summer and warm in the winter.[2]

Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Zama has grown steadily over the past 70 years.

The area around Zama has been settled since prehistoric times, and Jōmon period remains have been found. The hamlet of "Izama" was a post station on the ancient Tōkaidō road connecting Kyoto with the provinces in the Kantō region, and the area was part of the tenryō territory within Sagami Province during the Edo period administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate through a number of hatamoto-class administrators. During the cadastral reforms after the Meiji Restoration in 1889, the area of present-day Zama consisted of five hamlets in Kōza District, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The area remained very rural until the coming of the Odakyu Electric Railway in 1927 and the Sagami Railway in 1935, which spurred development, but the area was mostly farmland when the Imperial Japanese Army Academy was relocated to the Zama area in 1937. The increase in population led Zama Village to be promoted to Zama town the same year. However, in 1941, Zama Town and surrounding villages were merged into Sagamihara. In 1944, the Kōza Naval Arsenal of the Imperial Japanese Navy was established in the area. It was closed with the end of World War II, and the Imperial Japanese Army Academy was turned over to the United States Army to become Camp Zama.

In September 1948, Zama regained its status as a town independent of Sagamihara. The local economy received a significant boost with the building of a Nissan automobile assembly plant in Zama in 1965, along with other industries. Zama became a city on November 1, 1971.

Zama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Zama contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 13th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

After the Meiji era, mulberry fields and the raw silk industry dominated the local economy. Zama became heavily industrialized from the 1930s with production of equipment for the Japanese military, and this was followed in the 1950 and 1960s with automobile related production. However, with the economic recession in the 1990s Nissan production ended in 1995, and the economy of Zama suffered accordingly. The city has increasingly become a commuter town for nearby Sagamihara, Yokohama and Tokyo.

• Agriculture: 413 people (0.6%)
• Manufacturing: 18,978 people (29.8%)
• Service: 43,298 people (68.0%)

Zama has 11 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has three public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

• Smyrna, Tennessee, United States of America

• Zama Yatoyama Park
• Zama Park
• Himawari Park
• Kanigasawa Park
• Fujiyama Park
• Onsen (15 hot springs in the city)

• Akina Minami, Fashion Model, Gravure Idol, and Tarento (Originally from Yokohama, Kanagawa)
• Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos, Shakuhachi Flute Player/Maker
• Ami Suzuki, Singer/Songwriter, Actress and Dancer
• Danny Lee Clark, Athlete, Television Personality, Author, Actor, and Producer
• Erina Mano, Actress and Singer
• Keiichiro Koyama, Musician (Originally from Sagamihara, Kanagawa)
• Koyuki, Model and Actress
• Nanako Matsushima, Actress and Model (Originally from Yokohama, Kanagawa)
• Naoya Inoue, Boxer, Super Bantamweight Champion
• Saki Shimizu, Singer (Originally from Tokyo)
• Sakura Oda, Singer
• Shinobu Ohno, Female Footballer
• Suzuka Ohgo, Actress
• Tomoko Ishimura, Voice Actress

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  The Hato River
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  Manhole cover depicting symbols of Zama
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  Manhole cover depicting sunflowers, a symbol of Zama
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  Neighborhood in the vicinity of Soubudai-mae train station
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  Vegetable plots near Midori-ga-oka neighborhood
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  View of the distant mountains
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  View of a neighborhood within a short walk of Soubudai-mae train station

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zama, Kanagawa.

• Official Website (in Japanese)