the Hanasaki Maru, was sunk. One person was wounded. On 31 March 1955, Kominato merged with Nishi-Hiranai and Higashi-Hiranai to form the town, Hiranai. On 20 May 1963, Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun visited Hiranai to plant a Japanese red pine in the Yogoshiyama Forest Park for the 14th Annual Tree Planting Event and National Greening Convention. In 2012, Hiranai won a competition amongst towns and cities in Aomori Prefecture for who could produce the best advertisement film for their town. The film was titled, as a play on the pronunciation of the town's name and that the town isn't well known. The commercial features a child looking for the town, Shiranai, but nobody knows where that is. She then is told that she is probably looking for Hiranai and that it's not a town that nobody knows. This phrase from the film is well known by the town's citizens. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Hiranai has decreased by 38% over the past 50 years. Geography Hiranai occupies the Natsudomari Peninsula, the northern end of the Ōu Mountain Range that juts into central Mutsu Bay. The town's population is concentrated near the Japan National Route 4 passing through the east and west of the town and the Aoimori Railway Line (formerly the Tōhoku Main Line). The town office is in the settlement of Kominato, the central part of Hiranai centered around the valley of the Kominato River. The Kominato River begins in the mountains in the south of Hiranai, and flows north through the mountains until it reaches the flat land the town is situated on. After passing through Kominato, it joins the Morita River, which empties into Mutsu Bay shortly after their confluence. The southern part of Hiranai is mainly mountainous. The edges of the town make up the bulk of the Asamushi-Natsudomari Prefectural Natural Park. Climate The town has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen Cfb) characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hiranai is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1262 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.0 °C. Neighboring municipalities Aomori Prefecture Aomori Noheji Tōhoku Shichinohe Government Hiranai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town