is located in the
Greater Tokyo Area of
Honshū Island,
Japan. Its capital is
Chiba City.
History
Chiba Prefecture was established on
June 15,
1873 with the merger of
Kisarazu Prefecture and
Inba Prefecture. Historically, the prefecture constituted three
provinces of
Awa,
Kazusa, and
Shimousa.
Geography
Boso Peninsula.
Map of Chiba Prefecture.
Chiba borders
Ibaraki Prefecture to the north at the Tone River,
Tokyo and
Saitama Prefecture to the west at the Edo River, the
Pacific Ocean to the east and
Tokyo Bay around its southern boundary. Most of Chiba lies on the hilly
Boso Peninsula, a
rice farming region: the east coast, known as the Ninety-Nine League Plain, is an especially productive area. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the
KantÅ region that extends into the urban agglomeration of Tokyo and Saitama. The
Kuroshio Current flows near Chiba, which keep it relatively warm in winter and cooler in summer than neighbouring Tokyo.
Cities
Thirty-six cities are located in Chiba Prefecture:
Ç‚ Scheduled to be dissolved after mergers.
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each
district:
Mergers during the 2000s
★
June 6,
2003 - The city of
Noda absorbed the town of
Sekiyado. (
Merger information page)
★
February 11,
2005 - the old city of
Kamogawa merged with the town of
Amatsukominato to form the city of
Kamogawa.
★
March 28,
2005 - The city of
Kashiwa absorbed the town of
Shonan. (
Merger information page)
★
July 1,
2005 - The old city of
Asahi and the towns of
Hikata,
Iioka, and
Unakami merged to form the city of
Asahi. (
Merger information page)
★
December 5,
2005 - The towns of
Isumi,
Misaki and
Ohara merged to form the new city of
Isumi.
★
January 23,
2006, the city of
Yokaichiba and the town of
Nosaka merged, forming the city of
Sosa.
★
March 20,
2006 - The municipalities of
Tomiura,
Tomiyama,
Miyoshi,
Shirahama,
Chikura,
Maruyama and
Wada merged, forming the city of
Minamiboso.
★
March 27,
2006 - The city of
Narita absorbed the towns of
Shimofusa and
Taiei.
:The city of
Sawara and the towns of
Omigawa,
Yamada and
Kurimoto merged, forming the city of
Katori.
:The towns of
Sanbu,
Naruto,
Hasunuma and
Matsuo merged to form the city of
Sanmu.
:The towns of
Hikari and
Yokoshiba from
Sanbu District merged, forming the town of
Yokoshibahikari.
Economy
Chiba is one of Japan's largest industrial areas, thanks to its long coastline on Tokyo Bay. After Chiba was chosen as the site for a major Kawasaki Steel factory in 1950, the prefectural government embarked on a large-scale land reclamation program that dredged up large plots of waterfront property for factories, warehouses, and docks. Chemical production, petrochemical refining, and machine production are the three main industries in Chiba today: together, they account for forty-five percent of the prefecture's exports. In recent years, the government has funded more than eighty industrial parks to bring development further inland as well.
The prefecture also boasts Japan's second-highest agricultural output: among all the prefectures, only
HokkaidÅ produces more agricultural products, and Chiba leads HokkaidÅ in vegetable production. Chiba's fisheries are also productive, catching many of Japan's
spiny lobster .
Seaweed is harvested in large quantities from Tokyo Bay.
Demographics
Chiba's population is one of the wealthiest in Japan due to the prefecture's strong commercial and industrial sectors. Per capita GDP is ¥3.1 million (US$28,600), the fifth-highest in the country. 70% of the population is employed in the service sector, with 25% in industry and 5% in agriculture.
Education
Chiba Prefectural Board of Education oversees municipal school districts in the prefecture; the board also directly operates public high schools in the prefecture.
Culture
Chiba in popular culture
★ Novels set in Chiba include: ''
Neuromancer'' by
William Gibson (set in
Chiba city), ''
Ningen Shikkaku'' by
Osamu Dazai (
Funabashi), and ''
Nogiku no Haka'' by
Sachio ItÅ (
Matsudo).
★ ''
Manga'' (comics) representations include: ''
Be Free!'', ''
Chameleon'', ''
KyÅ Kara Ore wa!!'', ''
Makuhari'' (set in
Chiba city), ''
Makuhari Saboten Campus'' (
Chiba city), ''
Susume!! Pirates'', and ''
Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku'' (
Urayasu).
★ ''
Anime'' (animation) representations include: ''
ChikyÅ« BÅei Kazoku'' (set in
Funabashi), ''
Battle Programmer Shirase'' (Narashino), and ''
Zegapain'' (
Urayasu).
★ TV series representations include: ''
Kisarazu Cat's Eye'' (set in
Kisarazu), ''
Mio Tsukushi'' (
ChÅshi), ''Beach Boys'' (filmed in
Tateyama and
Shirahama and ''
Yappari Neko ga Suki'' (
Chiba city).
★ Various rock bands have roots that stem from the
Chiba prefecture, including the popular
X Japan,
Plastic Tree and
punk bands like Nicotine and
Ellegarden.
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Chiba.
Football (soccer)
★
JEF United Ichihara Chiba (
Chiba,
Ichihara)
★
Kashiwa Reysol (
Kashiwa)
★
JEF United Ichihara Chiba Amateur (
Ichihara)
Baseball
★
Chiba Lotte Marines
Rugby
★
IBM Big Blue (
Yachiyo)
★
Kubota Spears (
Funabashi)
★
NEC Green Rockets (
Abiko)
Tourism
Most
Tokyo-bound visitors land in
Narita International Airport, which is situated in
Narita in the north of the prefecture, and connected to Tokyo by the JR
Narita Express and the private
Keisei Electric Railway.
The
Tokyo Disney Resort is located in
Urayasu near the western border of the prefecture.
Chiba is linked to Tokyo by several railway lines: the main trunk lines are the
Keiyo Line and
Sobu Line. The
Musashino Line connects Chiba to Saitama and northern Tokyo. Southern Chiba is connected to
Kanagawa Prefecture by the
Tokyo Wan Aqua-Line bridge-tunnel.
Prefectural symbols
Chiba's Meibutsu (å物 lit: famous thing) is
peanuts. Most of Japan's peanuts are harvested here and are also processed into peanut oils.
External links
★
Official Chiba prefecture homepage
★
Chiba Information Guide
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