Industrial port (iron, steel, shipbuilding,
chemicals, textiles) on Honshu island;
population (1987) 2,546,000, metropolitan
area 8,000,000. It is the oldest city of
Japan and was at times the seat of government
in the 4th-8th centuries. Lying on a plain
sheltered by hills and opening on to Osaka
Bay, Osaka is honeycombed with waterways. It
is a tourist centre for Kyoto and the Seto
Inland Sea and is linked with Tokyo by fast
electric train 200 kph/124 mph. An
underground shopping and leisure centre 1951
has been used as a model for others
throughout Japan. It was a mercantile centre
in the 18th century, and in the 20th century
set the pace for Japan's revolution based on
light industries.