Mayor Takashima announced at press conference this morning that Fukuoka City will change it’s name to Hakata City as of Jan., 1, 2015. In a speech before local press, the Mayor said it was time to end the confusion between the names Fukuoka and Hakata. “The airport is called ‘Fukuoka Airport’ but our main train station is ‘Hakata Station’. Many people, especially visiting foreigners are confused”. According to the Mayor, thousands of foreigner tourists each year mistakenly take trains from Tokyo to Fukoka, Toyama Prefecture – not Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. “This has cost our city millions of yen in lost business, and of course, it’s a terrible inconvenience to these foreigners”. “Changing the city’s name, and the airport’s name to Hakata is right thing to do and now is the time”, exclaimed the young charismatic mayor, a former broadcast announcer. Not surprisingly the sudden announcement has caught many off guard. How far will the renaming go? Fukuoka Tower or Hakata Tower? Fukuoka Now or Hakata Now? What about the airport’s baggage tag, will it be switched from FUK to HAK? Academics are already offering opinions including Kyushu University’s Ichiro Kuroda, Department Head, Faculty of Historic Studies who supports the Mayor’s initiative, “The Fukuoka name was first used during the Edo period (1603-1868), and Fukuoka City became the official name during the Meiji period that followed. Therefore, the Hakata name has been used for a considerably longer period of time. It’s a reasonable suggestion for the city to re-unite as Hakata.” What do you think? Hakata City or Fukuoka City, please leave your comment here.
