Kobe, Japan Disaster Risk Management Profile

 Japan is located in eastern Asia, an island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and
the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. In 2003 Japan’s population was 128
million, and the City of Kobe represents 1.2% of the total. Most of the country’s
population is urban, accounting for the 78.8% of the total, with a density of 341 persons
per square kilometer.
Kobe City history goes back to 1868 when the Port of Kobe opened as an international
port. The city developed gradually by merging with neighbouring towns and villages.
Kobe currently covers an area of 550.72 sq. km (36 km from east to west and 30 km
north to south).
Despite having to recover from two devastating periods, World War II and the 1995
earthquake, its population has surpassed 1.5 million, turning it into the sixth largest city
in Japan. The population density of the urban area is almost 6,000 people per sq. km.