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Kobe is a prominent port, located on the south central coastline of Japan. This erstwhile capital of Japan has held the distinction of being the busiest container port in the world from 1973-1978. As on September 2006, the total population count of Kobe stands at about 1,528,948 and given that the total area of Kobe is 551.40 square kilometers, the population density is estimated to be 2766 per square kilometer. The population of the urbanized areas of Kobe is about 1 million and the density in these parts is thus as high as 6000 per square kilometer while the rural area surrounding Kobe has a population density of about 1200 per square kilometer. The population of the city of Kobe is a heterogeneous admixture of the native Japanese, other Asians namely the Chinese, Europeans and Americans. Areas such as Nankinmachi, Kitano-cho and Rokko Island have a high concentration of foreigners who have settled in Kobe. The estimated number of settlers is approximately 45,000, most of them having migrated to Kobe from 115 different countries. This has led to the intermingling of diverse cultures and the growth of a thoroughly cosmopolitan culture in the city of Kobe and its surroundings areas
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