city, eastern Hokkaido, Japan. It was founded as a post town in 1869 by a resident commissioner with 130 administrative staff members and their families. In 1880 it gained municipal status as a machi (township). Hanasaki, its port on the northern shore of Nemuro Peninsula, was the main base for fishing (salmon and trout) and seaweed-gathering boats and floating crab canneries. Before World War II, Nemuro was the administrative and governmental supply centre for the Kuril Islands. U.S. bombing in 1945 destroyed most of the city, and the Russian occupation of the Kuril Islands contributed to a long period of economic stagnation. The introduction of food-processing factories for fish and dairy products stimulated the economy and led to the city's renewed growth in the 1950s and '60s. Pop. (2005) 31,202.