Fukuoka: Island City Becomes Symbol of Growth 20 Years On, Artificial Island Now Home to 16,000 Residents

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:22 JST, November 8, 2025

FUKUOKA — Fukuoka Island City, an artificial island of 400 hectares off the coast of Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, marked its 20th anniversary last month.

The reclaimed land was initially called an “unsellable artificial island,” but has since developed into a town that is home to over 16,000 residents, becoming an area symbolic of Fukuoka’s continued growth.

Island City was created through a municipal reclamation project using sediment excavated from the seabed of Hakata Bay. Construction began in 1994, with residents starting to move in from December 2005.

At first, residents had to drive off the island to buy daily necessities as there were no supermarkets or convenience stores. Things started to change with the opening of an elementary school in 2007.

A junior high school followed the next year, and when Fukuoka Children’s Hospital opened in 2014, bus routes increased, commercial facilities opened and tower condominiums began to line the streets.

The city government provided subsidies to encourage the establishment of businesses there.

The seaside townscape has also attracted the attention of foreigners. Properties with good views are highly sought after by the wealthy, with real estate professionals noting that some condominiums have 40% foreign residents. An international school for young children has also opened.

“It’s deeply moving to think that children are being born and growing up here. It has become a green and wonderful town, exceeding what we imagined back then,” Mayor Soichiro Takashima, who has worked on the project for 15 years, said at a regular press conference.