Sasebo

Sasebo (佐世保市, Sasebo-shi) is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons per km2 (1,505 persons per square mile). The total area is 426.06 km2 (165 sq mi). The city includes a part of Saikai National Park. Located in the southern part of the city is the Dutch-styled theme park Huis Ten Bosch. The island of Ukujima is administered as part of Sasebo city. The area of present-day Sasebo was a small fishing village under the control of nearby Hirado Domain until shortly after the start of the Meiji period. Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, when surveying the coasts of northwestern Kyūshū for the site of a navy base, selected this location based on its protected, deep-water harbor, geographic proximity to China and Korea, and the presence of nearby coal fields.