Hiroshima City, located in the western part of Hiroshima Prefecture in the Aki region, serves as the prefectural capital and is the most populous city in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions. Excluding Tokyo’s 23 wards, it ranks 10th in population among all Japanese cities. Hiroshima is both a branch economy city and a regional core city, hosting the branch offices of major corporations in the Chugoku region as well as numerous local offices of national government agencies.
The city consists of eight administrative wards: Naka-ku, Higashi-ku, Minami-ku, Nishi-ku, Asaminami-ku, Asakita-ku, Aki-ku, and Saeki-ku. Hiroshima is known worldwide as the first city in history to suffer an attack with a nuclear weapon (the atomic bomb), and is designated as an International Peace and Culture City. The mayor initiated the Mayors for Peace network, which now has over 7,400 member municipalities from more than 150 countries. Before World War II, Hiroshima was known as a prominent military city in Japan.
In ancient and medieval times, the Otagawa River delta—where Hiroshima’s city center now lies—had not yet formed. The center of Aki Province was likely located in present-day Fuchu Town (Aki District) or the Saijo area of Higashihiroshima City. In the late 16th century, warlord Mōri Terumoto reclaimed land from the delta and built Hiroshima Castle, shifting the regional hub here and marking the start of Hiroshima’s urban development. During the Edo period, Hiroshima flourished as the castle town of Hiroshima Domain, with a kokudaka of 420,000 koku.
After the Meiji era began, Hiroshima became an important base for the army and navy. During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial General Headquarters was located here; Emperor Meiji stayed in the city, and the 7th Imperial Diet was convened here, temporarily making Hiroshima a de facto capital.
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy over the Aioi Bridge in central Hiroshima, instantly destroying the city and killing tens of thousands. By the end of the year, the estimated death toll had reached 130,000. Survivors suffered lifelong scars, radiation aftereffects, psychological trauma, and genetic risks.
After the war, Hiroshima rebuilt itself through heavy industry and automobile manufacturing—most notably Mazda, headquartered in Fuchu Town, Aki District—becoming an important industrial city within the Seto Inland Sea Industrial Area.
From the 1970s onward, Hiroshima annexed towns and villages from Aki and Takata districts, and on April 1, 1980, it became Japan’s 10th designated city. In March 1985, its population exceeded one million, making it the only million-person city in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions to this day. The Hiroshima metropolitan area remains the most populous in the region and is classified as one of Japan’s regional core cities, alongside Sapporo, Sendai, and Fukuoka—collectively nicknamed “Satsu-Sen-Hiro-Fuku.”
Hiroshima’s urban transport is centered on the Hiroshima Electric Railway, which has the largest streetcar system in Japan in terms of both size and ridership, working together with buses to provide public transit. Although the city has no subway (a plan was once considered), Hiroshima is famous for its “3B” traits: Bus (extensive bus routes), Branch (many corporate branch offices), and Bridge (numerous bridges due to the delta geography).
Hiroshima borders Higashihiroshima City to the east and Kitahiroshima Town to the north. Notably, Kitahiroshima City in Hokkaido gets its name from “Hiroshima Village,” which was founded by settlers from Hiroshima Prefecture in the Sapporo District during the Meiji period, later renamed Hiroshima Town, and eventually becoming the present-day Kitahiroshima City.
