Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Tōhoku Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Mutsu (むつ市) is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area. As of 31 January 2023, the city had an estimated population density of 62 persons per km². The total area of the city is 864.12 square km (333.64 sq mi), making it the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area.

Geography Mutsu occupies most of Shimokita Peninsula and is bordered by Mutsu Bay to the south and Tsugaru Strait to the north, and is the northernmost city on the island of Honshū. The volcanic Osorezan Mountain Range extends across the western and central portion of the city, and includes a number of caldera lakes. Mount Hiuchidake, 781 meters above sea level, is on the north side, and Mount Osore is on the south side. At the centre of Mount Osore is a caldera with a diameter of about 3 kilometers, inside which is a caldera lake called Lake Usori. Mount Kamabu (elevation 879 m) is located south-east of the caldera's outer rim, and is the highest point of Mount Osore. The Tanabe River, which originates from the Shimokita Hills, flows through Tanabu, the centre of Mutsu City, and the Tanabe Plain spreads out in the basin. The population is concentrated in the Tanabe, Ōhira, and Ōminato neighborhoods. Ōminato is located at the foot of Mount Kamabu, facing Ōminato Bay, where the waves are calm. There is a sand spit called Ashizaki in Ōminato Bay, and the inside of the sand spit is called Ashizaki Bay, which is a natural harbor. The Shimokita hills stretch in the south-eastern part of the city.

Parts of the city is within the limits of the Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park, including Mount Osore, Yagen Valley, and Taijima.

Neighboring municipalities Aomori Prefecture • Kazamaura • Ōma • Higashidōri • Sai • Yokohama.

Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Mutsu has declined over the past 40 years.

History Mutsu was founded on September 1, 1959 through the merger of the former towns of Ōminato and Tanabu. Tanabu had been the location of a daikansho under the Morioka Domain in the Edo period, and was a resettlement and colonization zone for dispossessed ex-samurai of the defeated Aizu Domain after the Boshin War. The village of Ōminato was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, and was raised to town status on November 10, 1928. Ōminato was a port town, and home to the Ōminato Guard District, a major base for the Imperial Japanese Navy until the end of World War II. The town and its military base were bombed repeatedly from the middle of July to middle of August 1945 during World War II. The base facilities were used by the United States Navy during the occupation of Japan, and (on a reduced scale) by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force to date.

Ōminato merged with the adjacent town of Tanabe to form the city Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns) on September 1, 1959; its name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. At the time, it was the only city with a hiragana name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the original kanji word Mutsu (陸奥) which indicates the old province that covered most of the modern Tōhoku region.

On March 14, 2005, the towns of Kawauchi and Ōhata, and the village of Wakinosawa (all from Shimokita District) were merged into Mutsu.

Government Mutsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 26 members. Mutsu, together with Shimokita District, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy The economy of Mutsu is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and fishing, especially scallop aquaculture in Mutsu Bay. The city is also the location for various facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and was the home port for the nuclear powered research vessel Mutsu, until its decommissioning in 1997.

Education Mutsu has 12 public elementary schools and nine middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education. The Aomori Akenohoshi Junior College has a campus in Mutsu. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

High schools • Tanabu High School • Ōminato High School • Mutsu Technical High School • Kawauchi Branch of Aomori Prefectural Ominato High School.

Transport: Rail East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – Ōminato Line • Chikagawa – Kanayasawa – Akagawa – Shimokita – Ōminato.

Transport: Road • Shimokita Expressway • National Route 279 • National Route 338.

Local attractions • Mount Osore • Lake Usori • Yagen Valley • Kawauchi Dam, northernmost dam on Honshu.