Ōsaki is located in the eastern part of the Ōsumi Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture. Part of the town area is an enclave surrounded by Shibushi City, and there is also an enclave of Shibushi City within the town area. The town faces Shibushi Bay.
Ōsaki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōsaki is 17.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2294 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 8.3 °C.[2]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōsaki is as shown below:[3]
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1920
14,390
—
1930
16,083
+11.8%
1940
17,458
+8.5%
1950
23,604
+35.2%
1960
23,922
+1.3%
1970
18,676
−21.9%
1980
17,527
−6.2%
1990
16,828
−4.0%
2000
16,018
−4.8%
2010
14,215
−11.3%
2020
12,385
−12.9%
History
The area of Ōsaki was part of ancient Hyūga Province. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Satsuma Domain. The village of Ōsaki was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Ōsaki was raised to town status on
January 1, 1936.
Government
Ōsaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Ōsaki, collectively with the city of Shibushi, contributes one member 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 Ōsaki is based largely on agriculture.
Education
Ōsaki has six public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.