CHIBA PREFECTURE

is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Honshū Island, Japan. Its capital is Chiba City.

Contents

History

Geography

Cities

Towns and villages

Mergers during the 2000s

Economy

Demographics

Education

Culture

Chiba in popular culture

Sports

Tourism

Prefectural symbols

External links

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

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 Kantō 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:

★ Abikoǂ ★ Asahi ★ Chiba (capital) ::Chūō-ku ::Hanamigawa-ku ::Inage-ku ::Midori-ku ::Mihama-ku ::Wakaba-ku ★ Choshi ★ Funabashi ★ Futtsu ★ Ichihara ★ Ichikawa

★ Inzai ★ Isumi ★ Kamagayaǂ ★ Kamogawa ★ Kashiwaǂ ★ Katori ★ Katsuura ★ Kimitsu ★ Kisarazu ★ Matsudoǂ ★ Minamiboso ★ Mobara ★ Nagareyamaǂ ★ Narashino

★ Narita ★ Nodaǂ ★ Sakura ★ Sanmu ★ Shiroi ★ Sodegaura ★ Sosa ★ Tateyama ★ Tomisato ★ Togane ★ Urayasu ★ Yachimata ★ Yachiyo ★ Yotsukaido

ǂ Scheduled to be dissolved after mergers.

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

★ Awa District::Kyonan ★ Chosei District::Chonan::Chosei::Ichinomiya::Mutsuzawa::Nagara::Shirako

★ Inba District::Inba::Motono::Sakae::Shisui ★ Isumi District::Onjuku::Otaki

★ Katori District::Kozaki::Tako::Tonosho ★ Sanbu District::Kujukuri::Oamishirasato::Shibayama::Yokoshibahikari

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 Hokkaidō produces more agricultural products, and Chiba leads Hokkaidō 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 Itō (Matsudo).

★ ''Manga'' (comics) representations include: ''Be Free!'', ''Chameleon'', ''Kyō Kara Ore wa!!'', ''Makuhari'' (set in Chiba city), ''Makuhari Saboten Campus'' (Chiba city), ''Susume!! Pirates'', and ''Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku'' (Urayasu).

★ ''Anime'' (animation) representations include: ''Chikyū Bōei Kazoku'' (set in Funabashi), ''Battle Programmer Shirase'' (Narashino), and ''Zegapain'' (Urayasu).

★ TV series representations include: ''Kisarazu Cat's Eye'' (set in Kisarazu), ''Mio Tsukushi'' (Chōshi), ''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 (名物 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