Imabari 5.23

Imabari is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture.Following a recent merger, as of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 172,384 and population density of 410.87 persons per km². The total (merged) area is 419.56 km².HistoryThe area in which Imabari is situated had long been a strategic point for the control of the Seto Inland Sea. As a result, it was controlled by a variety of forces throughout the warring period, including a number of inland sea pirates. The city was officially founded on February 11, 1920.On January 16, 2005, the towns of Hakata, Kamiura, Kikuma, Miyakubo, Namikata, Ōmishima, Ōnishi, Tamagawa, and Yoshiumi, and the villages of Asakura and Sekizen (all from Ochi District) were merged into Imabari. As a result, there are no more villages within Ehime Prefecture.EconomyImabari is home to a large number of shipbuilding and maritime servicing facilities along the northern and eastern coastlines of the city. Facilities include a small container port and maintenance and construction shipyards belonging to Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan's largest ship builder.