Komae is a municipality administered as a city, located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It is one of 30 municipalities in the western portion of Tokyo-to known as the Tama Area.As of September 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 76,952. The total area is 6.39 km². It is the smallest administrative city in Tokyo both in area and population. Its population density of 12,159 persons per km² makes it the third most densely populated municipality in Japan outside the 23 central wards of Tokyo.HistoryThe administrative boundaries of the farming village of Komae was founded in 1889. In 1893, it was transferred from Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo Prefecture. Odakyu Railways's Odawara line was constructed through Komae in 1926, linking it with Shinjuku in central Tokyo. Expanding population led to Komae being upgraded to the status of a town in 1952, and to a city on October 1, 1970.On September 1, 1970, Tama River's levee failed during a typhoon, and 19 houses were destroyed by torrential flooding. The riverbanks have now been strengthened. A small memorial stands at the location of the levee failure.Politics and governmentKomae is run by a city assembly of 22 elected members. The current mayor is Yutaka Yano, an independent affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party. The JCP is also the largest party in the assembly and forms a majority together with several smaller parties.  Komae city assembly election, 2007 In the mayoral election held on June 22, 2008, Yutaka Yano defeated two independent opponents, supported by the Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Japan, to win a fourth term.