Yokohama City
compiled by Cornelia [begun November 1999]

Yokohama City Office:
tel: 045-671-2121
1-1 Minatocho, Naka-ku, Yokohama City

Current population: 3,469,108 in January 2002 (was 3,372,916 in January 1999)
Foreign population: 51,747 (November 1999)
Breakdown of foreign population

There were 54 (noticeable) earthquakes in 1998.

Official Website:
in Japanese
in English
Yokohama Convention and Visitors' Bureau

NEWS FLASH! New Yokohama mayor vows reform
Monday, April 1, 2002
YOKOHAMA Hiroshi Nakada, a former House of Representatives lawmaker who clinched a surprise victory in Sunday's Yokohama mayoral election, pledged Monday to carry out organizational reform of the city government.
Nakada, 37, said, "I will overhaul the organization so that city officials can actively exchange opinions with citizens. I will also try to thoroughly disclose information." (Kyodo News)

The previous Mayor of Yokohama was Dr. Hidenobu Takahide. His term started April 1990 and having been re-elected numorous times ended 31 March 2001.
There is no direct email to the Yokohama City government or to the mayor available at this time.

He's young! See the mayor's picture and welcoming message.

Yokohama City is divided into 18 wards:
Map of 18 wards
Individual information on each ward.
In all cases the official Japanese web sites for each ward contain more information than the official English sites.

Aoba-ku
Tel: 045-978-2323
Foreign population: 2340

Asahi-ku
Tel: 045-954-6161
Foreign population: 1636

Hodogaya-ku
Tel: 045-334-6262
Foreign population: 2334

Isogo-ku
Tel: 045-757-2323
Foreign population: 2587

Izumi-ku
Tel: 045-800-2323
Foreign population: 1829

Kanagawa-ku
Tel: 045-323-1212
Foreign population: 2994

Kanazawa-ku
Tel: 045-788-7878
Foreign population: 2109

Kohoku-ku
Tel: 045-540-2323
Foreign population: 3789

Konan-ku
Tel: 045-847-8484
Foreign population: 1759

Midori-ku
Tel: 045-930-2323
Foreign population: 1468

Minami-ku
Tel: 045-742-1212
Foreign population: 4403

Naka-ku
Tel: 045-224-8181
Foreign population: 11116 (has the largest portion of US, UK, Korean, Chinese, Philippine and European citizens and in fact the largest portion of most nationalities represented in Yokohama in total numbers of over 100 - some exceptions: Brazilians, Germans, Iranians)

Nishi-ku
Tel: 045-322-1212
Foreign population: 1920

Sakae-ku
Tel: 045-894-8181
Foreign population: 795

Seya-ku
Tel: 045-367-5656
Foreign population: 826

Totsuka-ku
Tel: 045-866-8484
Foreign population: 2205

Tsurumi-ku
Tel: 045-503-1212
Foreign population: 5973

Tsuzuki-ku
Tel: 045-948-2323
Foreign population: 1664

Consultation for Foreigners (Public Counseling Office) from 13:00-16:00:
English 045-633-3344 Friday
Chinese 045-633-3322 Thursday
Korean 045-633-3311 Tuesday
Spanish 045-633-3355 Second and fourth Mondays (lunes)
Portuguese 045-633-3366 Second and fourth Mondays (lunes)

Yokohama City information by radio:
FM radio: 76.5
Mon-Fri 20:40-20:43
Mon.-Mandarin
Tue.-Korean
Wed.-Tagalog
Thu.-Spanish
Fri.-Indonesian

Volunteer Interpreter Services
A volunteer interpreter (tuyaku borantia) may be able to help you.
The organizations below can introduce you to a volunteer interpreter (tuyaku borantia) to help you to communicate and understand procedures at the Ward Office, City Office, Public Health Center, Municipal Schools, Hospitals and other city facilities for free. Transportation and other expenses are negotiable. For inquiries, contact:

YOKE Community Lounge Information Center
Yokohama Kokusai Koryu Launji Joho Kona 045-671-7209
Monday to Friday 10:00 - 16:00

Aoba International Lounge Aoba Kokusai Koryu Launji 045-971-2040
Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 - 21:00 & Sunday 9:00 - 17:00

Konan International Lounge Konan Kokusai Koryu Launji 045-848-0990
Monday - Saturday 9:00 - 21:00 & Sunday 9:00 - 17:00
Closed Wednesdays

Hodogaya International Exchange Center Hodogaya Kokusai Koryu Launji
045-337-0012
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 20:00

(these lounges and their hours I confirmed directly - some of the information on the Yokohama city web page differs and is apparently not up to date - 20 Dec 1999)
Languages which may be available on some days: English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer, Persian, Urdu, French, Russian, German, Indonesian, Malay, Italian, Bengali, Arabian, Turkish, Danish, Hungarian, Hebrew and Swahili

English News Publication: Yokohama Echo
Published every other month in English only except home page which is also in Japanese.
Tel: 045-671-7128 Fax:(045)671-7187 Email: intlyoke@iris.or.jp
Website: in Japanese and in English ( http://www.yoke.city.yokohama.jp/indexe.html )
OFFICE: Sangyo Boeki Center Bldg., 2 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0023, Japan.

There are presently 9 U.S. military facilities situated in Yokohama covering a total area of 5.29 million square meters. (!) This translates into: 5290000 square meters is about 4 square miles. There are 640 acres in a square mile so the 9 installations are on a total of about 2500 acres. This is a big chunk by Japanese standards.

International Relations Office, The City of Yokohama
tel: 045-671-2079
fax: 045-664-7145 (Japan's country code is 81)

Some private web sites for Yokohama in English:
http://www.inyokohama.com/

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