's a city located in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. It's on the west coast of Kyūshū. The city was founded on April 1, 1949. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 27,856 and the density of 171 persons per km². The total area's 162.88 km². It's the birthplace of Princess Princess bass player Atsuko Watanabe - October 26 1964. Minamata environmental disaster The city's best known as the former site of an environmental disaster caused by industrial pollution of the b… (More on Minamata)