Port of Himeji Overview

The Port of Himeji is a Central International Port located in the coastal area of Himeji City, which is in the central part of the Harima region and in the eastern area of the Seto Inland Sea. The port area spreads 18 km from east to west and has an area of approximately 7,700 ha playing an important role for Japan's economy as an industrial port together with the adjacent major port, Higashi Harima Port.
The Port of Himeji had been developed as a port to support a castle town Himeji playing a role as an important stop for transportation in the Seto Inland Sea. The Port has grown significantly after the Pacific War with promotion of dedicated facilities developed by inviting factories and plants along with enhancement of the public piers. The Port also works as an energy supply base in Kinki region and has power plants, LNG base facilities, and other facilities in its area.

In the old days, the port of the former Shikama Port (in the Shikama area) that opened to the mouth of the Noda River was called Shikamae and was a busy port where not only the vessels sailing in the Seto Inland Sea but also ships for Japanese missions to Tang China came to an anchor. When Emperor Kazan visited there in 985, the name was changed to Shikamazu, and since then the port has been enjoining its prosperity as an important stop for transportation in the Seto Inland Sea for 1000 years.

In the Edo period, the Port was connected to Himeji Castle, which is now designated as a World Cultural Heritage, by boating, and flourished as the Himeji Domain’s gateway to the sea. It was named Shikama Port in 1889, and became one of the major ports in 1931 and was designated as a Type II Major Port in 1935 continuing invitations for factories such as steel plants one by one. In Hirohata Port (Hirohata area), the port facilities such as piers, breakwaters, channels, and anchorages had been developed one after another by a semi-public company, Nippon Steel (currently Hirohata Works, Nippon Steel Corporation).
And finally, one of the world's leading 1,000-ton blast furnaces started its operation in 1939.

As the Pacific War began, the industrialization of the Port's coastal area rapidly progressed due to demands for quickly increased production to fulfill military demand for armament reinforcement. The renovation work of Shikama Port, which had been suspended, was resumed in 1943, and the port facilities were developed along with Hirohata Port. After the war, it was designated as a Major Port including Shikama Port, Hirohata Port, and Aboshi Port in January 1951 and designated as an Open Port in April 1959.

In 1958, the Harima area was designated as the mining and industrial development district of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The construction of 10-meter-depth piers in the Shikama area, waterway dredging in the Hirohata area, the breakwaters, waterway dredging, and other constructions in the Aboshi area were started. And, the Port was designated as a Special Major Port functioning as the center of the Harima region in June 1967, which formed the current Port of Himeji.

As for the amount of cargo handled by the Port in 2017 was 21.18 million tons in foreign trade and 13.4 million tons in domestic trade, mostly chemical products, metal mechanical products and mineral products, totaling 34.58 million tons.
In recent years, the situation surrounding the port has significantly changed, for example, increasing size of bulk carries, and manufacturing industry returning to Japan, as well as demand for promotion of Regional Revitalization to maintain the regional vitality against the decreasing birthrate and aging population, and the overconcentration of people and industry in Tokyo.

In response to such a demand, we revised the Plan for the Port of Himeji in July 2019 with its goal achieved in middle of 2030s aiming to realize an active port with integrated four functions of logistics/industry, interaction/life, nature/environment and safety/security so as to continue playing a role as a port that will lead the region.

■Legal designations of the Port of Himeji■

1. Port and Harbor Act: Designated as a Special Major Port (1967)
   (The name changed to Central International Port according to a legal amendment on April 1, 2011)
2. Customs Act: Designated as an open port (1959)
3. Act on Port Regulations: Designated as a Specified Port (1963)
4. Port and Harbor Transportation Business Act: Designated as a Designated Port (Type II Port) (1953)
5. Plant Protection Act: Designated as a Plant Protection Port (1967)
6. Quarantine Act: Designated as a Radio Quarantine Port (1979)
7. Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control: Designated as an Animal Quarantine Port (1990)
8. Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act: A designated port (1951)

＊ Not designated as a quarantine port by the Quarantine Act