Ichihara, Chiba

Template:Nihongo is a city, located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Template:As of, the city had an estimated population of 274,117 in 128,316 households and a population density of 240 persons per km².<ref name="Ichihara-hp">Template:Cite web</ref> The total area of the city is Template:Convert. The city is home, together with the city of Chiba, to the JEF United football club. The whole city is also parts of Greater Tokyo Area.

Geography

Ichihara is located in the western part of the Bōsō Peninsula, and geographically is the largest of Chiba Prefecture's cities and towns. The south is a mountainous area connected to the Boso hills. The highly industrialized northern part of the city faces Tokyo Bay. Ichihara, dense in housing developments, serves as a satellite town of Tokyo and Chiba City.

Surrounding municipalities

Chiba Prefecture

Climate

Ichihara has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ichihara is Template:Cvt. The average annual rainfall is Template:Cvt with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around Template:Cvt, and lowest in January, at around Template:Cvt.<ref name=normals/> Template:Weather box

History

The area of modern Ichihara is the center of ancient Kazusa province. The ruins of the Nara period Kazusa Kokubun-ji provincial temple have been found within the borders of Ichihara, although the exact location of the Nara-period provincial capital remains uncertain. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested between the Chiba clan to the north, and the Satomi clan to the south. During the Edo period, the area was divided between Goi Domain, Tsurumaki Domain and large areas of tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate and administered by various hatamoto.

Timeline

During the Meiji period, the area was reorganized into 171 villages under Ichihara District, Chiba Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
In September 1923, the city was affected by Great Kanto earthquake.
By 1945, these villages had been consolidated into five towns and 16 villages.
Through further consolidation and mergers, the city of Ichihara was founded on May 1, 1963.
On 1 October 1967, the neighboring town of Nansō, and village of Kamo were merged into Ichihara.
On 11 March 2011, the city was struck by earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, which causes of the natural gas storage tanks at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara were set on fire by the earthquake.<ref>"Japan earthquake causes oil refinery inferno". Daily Telegraph, London, 11 March 2011, Retrieved 11 March 2011</ref><ref>"Natural gas storage tanks burn at Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city" Template:Webarchive. Reuters AlertNet. 11 March 2011, Retrieved 11 March 2011</ref>

Government

Ichihara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 32 members. Ichihara contributes four members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,<ref>Ichihara population statistics</ref> the population of Ichihara has recently plateaued after several decades of strong growth.

Template:Historical populations

Economy

The city's economy is fueled by a large industrial complex overlooking Tokyo Bay. It contains the largest number of oil refineries in Japan, as well as power, petrochemical and shipbuilding companies.<ref name="overview">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Teikyo Heisei University
Ichihara has 41 public elementary schools and 21 public middle schools operated by the city government, and six public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private elementary school and two private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.