of the modern municipalities system. The remaining two hamlets merged to form Yoshihama village. On July 1, 1926, Doi village was elevated to town status, taking the new name of Yugawara. Yoshihama attained town status on April 1, 1940, and merged into Yugawara on April 1, 1955. A planned merger of Yugawara into Odawara in 2005 was rejected by local voters in an August 8, 2004 referendum. Economy Yugawara has many onsen hot spring resorts, and tourism plays a major role in the local economy, within easy access from Tokyo. Agriculture and commercial fishing play secondary roles in the local economy. Government Yugawara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Yugawara, together with neighboring Manazuru, contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kanagawa 16th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Education Yugawara has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school. Transportation Railroad JR East – Tōkaidō Main Line Highway Sister city relations - Chungju, Republic of Korea - Mihara, Japan - Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia Notable people Taichi Yamada, screenwriter Jungo Kono, professional soccer player Yukiya Amano, diplomat, Director of IAEA Marutei Tsurunen, former member of the Upper House, first Westerner to hold a political office in Japan References External links Official Website yugawara-resort Towns in Kanagawa Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan