Minamitane, Kagoshima

Minamitane (南種子町) is a town located on the island of Tanegashima, in Kumage District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,249 in 2893 households, and a population density of 48 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 109.94 km2. The main spaceport of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is located at the Tanegashima Space Center in Minamitane.

Geography
Minamitane is located on the southern end of the island of Tanegashima, bordered by the East China Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the town of Nakatane to the north.

Climate
The climate is classified as humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, but is highest in the months of May, June and September. The area is subject to frequent typhoons.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamitane is as shown below:

History
The area of Minamitane was part of ancient Ōsumi Province. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Satsuma Domain. Minamitane Village was established on April 1, 1889. In 1879, a government office (役場) was established in the village of Shimama (島間村), also overseeing the villages of Nishino (西之村) and Sakai (坂井村), while another government office was established in Kukinaga (茎永村), also covering the villages of Hirayama (平山村) and Nakano (中之村). These former villages were then merged to form Minamitane Village. Minamitane was upgraded to town status on October 15, 1956.

Government
Minamitane has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 10 members. Minamitane, collectively with the other municipalities of Kumage District and the city of Nishinoomote, contributes two members to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kagoshima 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
The economy of Minamitane is based largely on agriculture and commercial fishing.

Education
Minamitane has eight public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Notable people
The Mangjeol family of South Korea trace their ancestry to a man from Shimama Village surnamed Amikiri (網切) who went to Korea during the colonial period and settled there. His son married a Korean woman, and his grandson Amikiri Ichirō (網切一郎) chose to remain in South Korea after its independence and naturalised as a South Korean citizen, and changed his name to the Korean reading of its characters, Mangjeol Ilrang.