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Flag of Sapporo

Sapporo is the fifth-largest city in Japan and the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture. Its name means "dry, great river" in Ainu, referencing the Toyohira River, and it was founded in 1868 to replace Hakodate as the island's capital. The American government, represented by Secretary of Agriculture Horace Capron, helped develop the city, with construction beginning around Odori Park and following a grid plan. The Ohio rancher Edwin Dun introduced pig raising and the making of butter, cheese, ham, and sausage to the city in 1876, and Sapporo received streetcar access in 1918. Sapporo was bombed by Ameircan naval aircraft in July 1945 during World War II, but the city quickly recovered after the war, and the first Sapporo Snow Festival was held in 1950. The city hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics held in Asia, and the Sapporo Dome was built in 2001, hosting three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. By 2023, Sapporo had a population of 1,959,750 people, and the city was known to be a bastion of leftism in an otherwise conservative country.

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