Iruma

Iruma is a city in the Sayama Highlands of far southern Saitama Prefecture in Japan, bordered by Tokyo to the south and crossed by the Iruma River. The area was part of ancient Musashi Province and was known for kilns that produced Sue ware pottery in the Nara and Heian periods; in the Edo period three post towns developed here on the Nikkō Wakiōkan highway. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Academy built an airfield in 1938 that later became Iruma Air Base. The towns and villages of the area merged into the town of Musashi in 1956, which became the city of Iruma in 1966. A 2005 plan to merge with neighbouring Sayama failed in a referendum. Its economy combines light manufacturing, regional commerce and green tea, for which Iruma and Sayama are well known, and many residents commute to Tokyo. About 147,000 people lived there in 2021.