Shibetsu, Hokkaido (Nemuro) 2.04

is a town located in Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, it has an estimated population of 5,374, and an area of 624.49 km².Shibetsu is located at the northeastern end of Hokkaido, in the heart of Nemuro Subprefecture. It is a coastal town, facing the Sea of Okhotsk and backed by the mountains of the Shiretoko Peninsula. To the northeast of Shibestu lies the town of Rausu, to the northwest is Shari, to the south is Betsukai and to the west is the town of Nakashibetsu.PopulationAlthough the town's population was 8,051 people in 1965, the amount has continued to decrease to 6,298 people in the year 2000 . The effects of depopulation and outflow of young people has left the current population to roughly 5,825 people .HistoryPioneer settlers established Shibetsu during the Meiji period (1868-1912) and it quickly became a thriving fishing and farming town. 1901: Uembetsu Village (now Rausu) splits off.1923: Shibetsu Village becomes second-class municipality.1946: Nakashibetsu splits off.1958: Shibetsu Village becomes Shibetsu Town.EconomySalmon, scallop, trout and shellfish farming has been the cornerstone of Shibetsu's livelihood. As of 2009, Shibetsu's fishing industry is estimated to produce 51 billion yen annually (salmon farming making up most of it with 39 billion yen). Shibetsu is also supported by its successful dairy industry with total dairy production annually exceeding 82 billion yen (As of May 2009).