Overview
Shizuoka City is a city of approximately 670,000 people located in central Japan, known for its rich natural environment, unique food culture, and historically significant heritage. From within the city, one can enjoy views of mountains including Mount Fuji and the beautiful coastline of Suruga Bay, offering scenery that changes with the seasons. Its local food culture, featuring fragrant tea, fresh seafood, and dishes using wasabi, also captivates visitors. Historically, it is home to Sunpu Castle, where Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo period, spent his later years, enhancing the city's cultural value.
Shizuoka City possesses particularly important experience and knowledge in flood control. The Tomoe River, flowing through the city's plains, has a gentle gradient and low flow capacity, making it prone to flooding during heavy rains. The densely populated river basin frequently suffered severe flooding damage. Consequently, the city has worked closely with the prefecture, which is the river administrator, to promote the development of floodways and flood control basins over many years, aiming to mitigate flood damage. Projects like the Otani River Diversion Channel, the Asagi Flood Retention Basin serving as a public recreation area, and flood control measures utilizing the moat at Sumpu Castle Park in the city center and elementary school playgrounds have been realized through collaboration with the prefecture, the private sector, and citizens.
Shizuoka City joined the TDLC's City Partnership Program in June 2025. Its approaches to urban development and municipal finance in a medium-sized city are expected to be highly instructive for World Bank lending countries.
Key topics of engagement
- Urban flood management
Key recent collaborations
- March 2025
TDLC and Shizuoka City held the Technical Deep Dive on Urban Flood Management.
*As of September 2025
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