Message from the Mayor
最終更新日：2022年1月1日
Kawagoe: Striving to be a city that makes every resident proud and happy to live here
Yoshiaki Kawai, Mayor of Kawagoe City
Greetings, everyone! I’m Yoshiaki Kawai, Mayor of Kawagoe City.
Located about 30 kilometers from central Tokyo, Kawagoe is a core city that is home to 350,000 residents and has long been a hub of industry, economy, culture, tourism, and more in southwestern Saitama Prefecture.
In 1922, Kawagoe became the first urban center in Saitama to be incorporated as a city. In 1955, nine neighboring villages merged with Kawagoe, forming the municipal borders that exist today. And, in April 2003, Kawagoe was granted the status of a core city, which is second only to a designated city in terms of local authority. As a core city, we play a key role in Japan’s efforts to decentralize government, and we are able to provide a full set of administrative services closely tailored to our community’s needs.
Kawagoe is a thriving city, thanks in large part to its well-balanced mix of industries. We have numerous commercial establishments, particularly in the areas surrounding the Kawagoe, Hon-Kawagoe, and Kawagoe-shi train stations. We also have many farms that feed people across the Greater Tokyo Area. Last but not least, our diverse factories, mostly concentrated in industrial parks in our northern and southwestern corners, place Kawagoe among Saitama’s top cities in the value of manufacturing output.
This year, 2022, is the 100th anniversary of our city's incorporation. For the past 100 years, Kawagoe has been able to develop continuously because of the efforts of our predecessors to create a livable city according to the times. We will take over their efforts and, together with all the people involved in our city, strive for the further development of our city for another 100 years.
As Mayor, I am firmly committed to growing Kawagoe into an even more appealing city―one that will fill outsiders with the desire to visit as soon as they hear of what we offer, and one that make residents proud and happy to live here.
Whether you reside here or are thinking about visiting us, I hope this website will help you to become well acquainted with our vibrant city.