Named for a city 70 km northwest of Tokyo, not far from the National Astronomical Observatory’s Dodaira Station. Originally a stop on one of the main routes between Tokyo and Kyoto {see planets  (498) and  (4352)}, the city received its present name in 1955, since when it has shown remarkable growth. Fukaya, home to one of the factories of the Dynic Corporation, is now one of the leading industrial centers in Saitama prefecture. (M 19341) _ _.