Osaka

Osaka (pop. 2,495,300), Japan's third-largest city, an industrial and commercial center, on Honshu Island at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay. Lack of land (it covers only 80 sq mi/206 sq km) has forced a rapidly increasing population into apartments or to the suburbs, and shopping centers underground. It has centuries-old cultural and religious monuments and several universities and museums. Steel, chemicals, and textiles are leading products. A great port, it is connected by the world's fastest railway system to Tokyo and Asia's busiest airport.

See also: Japan.