Nagasaki, city, Japan, western Kyushu Island, capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, at the head of Nagasaki Bay. Nagasaki Bay, about 5 km (about 3 mi) long and sheltered on all sides, is one of the best natural harbors of Japan. The city has important coal-mining and fishing industries, shipyards and steelworks, and plants manufacturing electrical equipment. It is the site of Nagasaki University (1949). On August 9, 1945, during World War II, three days after Hiroshima was destroyed, a U.S. Army Air Force plane released an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. About one-third of the city was destroyed and according to U.S. estimates 40,000 people were killed or missing. A memorial now marks the location over which the bomb exploded. Population (1999) 425,671.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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