is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

located in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north,

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

to the northwest, and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to the west. Chiba is the capital and largest city of Chiba Prefecture, with other major cities including Funabashi, Matsudo, Ichikawa and Kashiwa. Chiba Prefecture is located on Japan's eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast to the east of Tokyo, and is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the most populous

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in the world. Chiba Prefecture largely consists of the Bōsō Peninsula, which encloses the eastern side of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

and separates it from

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

. Chiba Prefecture is home to Narita International Airport, the Tokyo Disney Resort, and the

Keiyō Industrial Zone , also known as the Keiyō Industrial Region, the Keiyō Industrial Area, or the Keiyō Industrial Belt, is an industrial region, industrial zone on the northeastern coast of Tokyo Bay that crosses 8 cities in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The zone sp ...

Etymology

The name of Chiba Prefecture in Japanese is formed from two

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

characters. The first, , means "thousand" and the second, means "leaf". The name first appears as an ancient '' kuni no miyatsuko'', or regional command office, as the . The name was adopted by a branch of the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, and held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The name "Chiba" was chosen for the prefecture at the time its creation in 1873 by the , an early Meiji-period body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan. The compound word , which refers to the Tokyo-Chiba region, is formed from the second character in

(), and the second character in Chiba (), which can also be pronounced "kei" and "yō" respectively. This compound is used in terms such as the Keiyō Line, Keiyō Road, Keiyō Rinkai Railway Rinkai Main Line, and the

History

Early history

Chiba Prefecture was settled in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

remains in every part of the region. The prefecture holds the largest ''kaizuka'' sea shell mounds in Japan, evidence of a large population in the prefecture that relied on the rich marine products of the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay. Kofun burial mounds are found across the prefecture, with the largest group being in Futtsu along Tokyo Bay.

Asuka and Nara periods

In the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

(538–710), under the

Taika Reform The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Jap ...

of 645, the administrative structure of present-day Chiba Prefecture changed significantly. The historical province of Fusa Province, which may have covered much of Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures, was divided into two provinces: Shimōsa Province (also called Shimofusa) in the north and Kazusa Province in the southern area. Awa Province at the south of Chiba Prefecture, was separated from Kazusa Prefecture in 718. These administrative units existed until they were abolished and merged into Chiba Prefecture after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. The central government established a ''kokubunji''

provincial temple The are Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). The official name for each temple was Konkomyo Shitenno Gokoku-ji (Konkōmyō Shitennō ...

in each province.

Heian period

The imperial court gradually extended its authority over the three provinces in the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

(710–794) and

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

(794–1185) periods.

Shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

feudal estates were established across the three provinces, and the region became an important source of tax revenue, sending agricultural and other products to the capital in Kyoto. As the Heian period progressed, however, the kokushi provincial governors came to exert military power independent of the central government in Kyoto. The Chiba clan broke entirely with the imperial court and was instrumental in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.

Modern period

Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873, with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture. The militarization of Chiba Prefecture dates to the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

(1904–1905). Coastal fortifications were built along

, as far south as Tateyama, to protect the capital of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

from attack. In September 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake has cause of widespread destruction in Chiba Prefecture, most notably in the southernmost part of Boso Peninsula, where 1,300 residents were killed, out of 142,000 deaths. Areas of prefecture adjacent to Tokyo saw much damage, and mob violence against Koreans and other ethnic minorities occurred in the chaos after the earthquake in Funabashi, Ichikawa, and other areas. Koreans, in several neighborhoods of Yachiyo, were killed, and a tower was erected in 1972 near Yachiyodai Station to memorialize those killed in the incident. In the 1930s, the north and central areas of the prefecture became a center of large-scale military production, and military bases and fortifications were constructed in most of the coastal areas of the prefecture. After the United States took control of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, the northern part of the prefecture (most notably the cities of Chiba and Chōshi) was firebombed. Much of the industrialized north of the prefecture was destroyed. Operation Coronet, one of two parts of Operation Downfall, was the planned land invasion of Tokyo in March 1946 by the United States. Coronet planned Kujūkuri Beach as one of two initial landing bases, the other being Hiratsuka via Sagami Bay. The U.S. First Army would enter at Kujūkuri, sweep across the Boso Peninsula, and meet the U.S. Eighth Army at Tokyo. The plan was not carried out since Japan surrendered after the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

During the Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) Chiba Prefecture was controlled by American forces from the second floor of the prefectural capitol building in the city of Chiba. Numerous other cities in the prefecture, including Chōshi to the north and Tateyama to the south, were used as bases of the occupation; rich agricultural areas across the prefecture somewhat safeguarded the region's population from potential food shortages, and starvation, immediately following the war. The immediate post-war period was characterized by carefully planned industrial expansion in the north of the prefecture, and the significant increase of agriculture after

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

s across the prefecture. The

brought together smaller, industrial areas along the entirety of the western coast of Chiba Prefecture, and the industrial zone became (and remains) an important center of heavy industrial production and large-scale port facilities in Japan. Cities to the northeast of the prefecture (in close proximity to Tokyo) were connected by rail to the capitol, and became and remain bedroom communities to Tokyo. Narita International Airport began operation in 1978 in Narita, after much protest to replace the overcrowded Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport). The majority of international air traffic enters Japan via Chiba Prefecture. The cultivation of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and vegetables to feed the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area expanded greatly and became a source of income to the northeast and central areas of the prefecture. The expansion of agriculture in the central and southern regions of the prefecture was in contrast to the depopulation of these areas as a significant part of the population moved to the northeast of the prefecture as a result of the

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

of Japan, a process that continues into the 21st century. On March 11, 2011, the epicenter of 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster that devastated much of the northeastern coast of Honshu, which caused some damage and affected areas in Chiba Prefecture. While the loss of life and damage to housing and industry was far less than in

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

, 20 people were killed in Chiba Prefecture, including 13 people were recorded deaths in Asahi. Following the triple disaster, an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

fire broke out at the Cosmo Oil Chiba Refinery, in Ichihara, and was widely covered in the news media. Also, a large

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

(LPG) tanks burned at 10 days earlier.

Soil liquefaction Soil liquefaction occurs when a cohesionless saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses Shear strength (soil), strength and stiffness in response to an applied Shear stress, stress such as shaking during an earthquake or other s ...

, in areas of reclaimed land across the northern and western areas of Chiba Prefecture, caused damage to housing. Chiba City, Funabashi,

Narashino is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 175,292 in 81,985 households and a population density of 8400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Narashino is loca ...

, and especially Urayasu were greatly affected by triple disaster (such as soil liquefaction, and evidence of radioactive materials caused by the Fukushima radiation). As a result of triple disaster and with permanent damage to housing stock, the population of Chiba Prefecture fell for the first time since Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 and Great Kanto earthquake in 1923.

Geography

Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north at the Tone River,

and

to the west at the Edo River, the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the east and

around its southern boundary. Most of Chiba lies on the hilly Boso Peninsula, a

farming region: the east coast, known as the Kujūkuri Plain, is an especially productive area. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the

that extends into the urban agglomeration of Tokyo and Saitama. The

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

flows near Chiba, which keeps it relatively warm in winter and cooler in summer than neighbouring Tokyo.

National and prefectural parks

With the exception of the large-scale

in the northeast, the entirety of the coast of Chiba Prefecture is protected as two quasi-national parks and one prefectural natural park under the national park system of Japan. As of 1 April 2012, 6% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks. * Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park encompasses a large area of the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...

basin and the area around Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture. The park was established in 1953 to protect not only the environment of the area, but also its unique cultural heritage. The mouth of the Tone River and to Cape Inubō and Byōbugaura in northeastern Chiba Prefecture make up the southern part of the park. * Minami Boso Quasi-National Park was established in 1953 to protect much of the southern coastal areas of Chiba Prefecture from Cape Futtsu on

to Cape Inubō in northeastern Chiba Prefecture. The park spans across nine administrative districts in the prefecture. Minami Boso Quasi-National Park was established to protect not only the environment of coastal areas, but also the unique cultural assets of associated with these areas, notably the temples associated with Nichiren. Chiba Prefecture has designated and maintains eight prefectural natural parks to protect both natural and cultural areas, namely the Inba Tega, Kasamori Tsurumai, Kujūkuri, Mineokasankei, Ōtone, Takagoyama, Tomisan, and Yōrō Keikoku Okukiyosumi Prefectural Natural Parks. Cities, towns, and villages in the prefecture also have designated and protected parklands. These parks are maintained for environmental protection as well as providing local recreational facilities.

Municipalities

Since 2010, Chiba consists of 54

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and since 2013, they are 37 cities, 16 towns and one

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

. File:View from Chiba Port-Tower Northwest.jpg, Chiba City File:Edo river near Ichikawa.JPG, Ichikawa File:North view near Narita Station.JPG, Narita File:20090730鴨川市.jpg, Kamogawa File:007 Katori, Japan - 香取市.JPG, Katori File:SH3J0304.jpg, Katsuura

Mergers

With the introduction of modern municipalities (cities/towns/villages) in 1889, Chiba's districts were subdivided into 43 towns and 315 villages. The first city was created in 1921 when Chiba Town from Chiba District became district-independent as Chiba City. The postwar/1950s Great Shōwa mergers reduced the number of municipalities in Chiba to 101 by 1960, including 14 cities by then. The early 3rd millennium Great Heisei mergers created the current 54 municipalities by 2010.

List of governors of Chiba Prefecture (from 1947)

* Tamenosuke Kawaguchi (川口為之助) – from 21 April 1947 to 25 October 1950 * Hitoshi Shibata (柴田等) – from 15 December 1950 to 2 November 1962 * Hisaaki Kano (加納久朗) – from 3 November 1962 to 21 February 1963 * Taketo Tomonoo (友納武人) – from 17 April 1963 to 16 April 1975 * Kiichi Kawakami (川上紀一) – from 17 April 1975 to 27 February 1981 * Takeshi Numata (沼田武) – from 5 April 1981 to 4 April 2001 * Akiko Domoto (堂本暁子) – from 5 April 2001 to 4 April 2009 * Kensaku Morita (森田健作) – from 5 April 2009 to 4 April 2021 * Toshihito Kumagai (熊谷俊人) – from 5 April 2021 to present

Economy

Industry

Chiba Prefecture is home to one of Japan's largest industrial areas. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

manufacturing in the prefecture was centered on the

brewing industry Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the gr ...

, specifically the production of

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, sake and

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol (drug), alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms natur ...

sweet cooking sake. The

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

sector expanded greatly after the war. The prefecture was chosen as the site for a major Kawasaki Steel factory in 1950. In the same period the prefectural government embarked on a large-scale

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

program to dredge large plots of waterfront property. The large-scale construction of

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

, warehouses, and docks on this reclaimed land around the Tokyo Bay area ultimately formed the

. Chiba Prefecture is now 6th in Japan in industrial output with the bulk of the industry focused on the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

, and

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and machine industries. Together, these industries account for forty-five percent of the prefecture's exports. In recent years, the government has funded more than eighty

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

s to bring development further inland as well.

Agriculture

The prefecture also boasts Japan's overall second-highest agricultural output. Among all the prefectures, only

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

produces more agricultural products, and Chiba leads Hokkaido in vegetable production.

Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s are considered a specialty product of Chiba: 78% of the country's peanuts are produced in the prefecture. Chiba Prefecture leads the nation in the production of several vegetables, including carrots; cabbage; daikon radish; ''negi'', the ubiquitous Japanese

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

of the Welsh onion; loquat; nashi, the Japanese cultivar of the

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

, which has a two hundred-year history of cultivation in the prefecture;

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es; and

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

It is the nation's second largest producer of corn.

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

is also grown, and seaweed, specifically '' nori'', is harvested in large quantities from Tokyo Bay.

Demographics

Chiba prefecture population pyramid in 2020

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, the fifth-highest in the country. 70% of the population is employed in the service sector, with 25% in industry and 5% in agriculture.

Climate

Chiba Prefecture has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters. The ''tsuyu''

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

occurs for approximately 50 days from June to July. According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the average of annual temperature is . The average high is , and the average low is .

Education

Universities

*Chiba ** Chiba University in Inage, Chuo ** Chiba Economic University in Inage ** The Open University of Japan in Mihama **The Meteorological College of Japan **Heisei Teikyo University in Mihama ** Shukutoku University in Chuo ** Tokyo Information Sciences University in Wakaba ** Tokyo Dental College in Mihama ** Kanda University of International Studies in Mihama **Tokyo University of Career Development in Chuo *Funabashi ** Toho University – Narashino Campus **

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

– Funabashi Campus *Matsudo **Nihon University – Matsudo Campus ** Ryutsu Keizai University ** Seitoku University *Ichikawa ** Chiba Commerce University ** Wayo Women's University *Kashiwa ** University of Tokyo – Kashiwa Campus **Chiba University – Kashiwanoha Campus ** Kaichi International University ** Nishogakusha University – Kasiwa Campus ** Reitaku University *Narashino ** Chiba Institute of Technology **Nihon University – Narashino and Mimomi Campus *Ichihara **Heisei Teikyo University – Ichihara Campus *Yachiyo ** Shumei University ** Tokyo Seitoku University *Sakura ** Keiai University – Sakura Campus *Noda ** Tokyo University of Science – Noda Campus *Nagareyama ** Edogawa University ** Toyo Gakuen University *Urayasu ** Juntendo University – Urayasu Campus ** Meikai University ** Ryotokuji University *Abiko ** Chuo Gakuin University ** Kawamura Gakuen Woman's University *Kisarazu ** Seiwa University *Togane ** Josai International University *Inzai **Juntendo University – Sakura Campus *Kamogawa ** Kameda College of Health Sciences

Secondary schools

The Chiba Prefectural Board of Education oversees municipal school districts in the prefecture. The board also directly operates the prefecture's public high schools.

Culture

Museums

Chiba Prefecture is home to one national-level museum and several prefectural and local museums. The National Museum of Japanese History is located in Sakura and focuses on the history, archaeology, and folk culture of Japan. The Chiba prefectural museums consist of a main museum, the Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba in the central Chuō-ku ward of Chiba City, and six branch museums throughout the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art is in Chiba City. The Chiba Prefectural Boso-no-mura in Sakae focuses on the local culture of the late Edo period, and the Chiba Prefectural Otone Museum in Katori focuses on the culture of the

basin. The reconstructed

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such a ...

s of Sekiyado and Ōtaki host regional historical museums. The Chiba Museum of Science and Industry is located in Ichikawa on the site of a former factory, and the Coastal Branch of Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba in Katsuura focuses on the marine environment of the Pacific Ocean coast. Numerous other municipalities in the prefecture also host museums.

Libraries and archives

The Chiba Prefectural Library consists of three libraries. The Chiba Prefectural Central Library is located in the central Chuō-ku ward of Chiba City directly southwest of Chiba Castle and in close proximity to the City of Chiba offices. The Central Library houses a general collection as well as the central research collection for the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural West Library is located in Matsudo next to the Matsudo Museum, and houses a research collection focused on natural history and the fine arts. The Chiba Prefectural East Library is located in Asahi, and houses a research collection focused on the literature and history of the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural Archives are located across the Miyako River from the City of Chiba offices. The archive maintains a collection of rare books and materials from across the prefecture, as well as materials related to the administration of Chiba Prefecture. Each municipality in the prefecture maintains a local libraries, and many shrines and temples maintain archival collections related to their institutions.

Cuisine

The traditional diet of Chiba Prefecture is not fundamentally different from that of the rest of Japan. Chiba Prefecture produces prolific quantities of rice across all areas in the prefecture, vegetables in the northern area of the prefecture, and fish, seafood, and shellfish along the coastal areas of the prefecture. Chōshi has been a major center of worldwide

production since the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, and the prefecture remains the top producer in Japan. Kikkoman is headquartered in Noda in northwestern Chiba Prefecture. These are all important components of

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

. Certain local products, however, are grown in abundance and have resulted in several dishes unique to the areas. Peanuts, grown in great quantities in the prefecture, appear fresh in markets in the prefecture and are eaten boiled as a snack. Miso paste mixed with peanuts is also produced in Chiba. ''Takenoko'', whole bamboo shoot, are harvested in the central part of the Boso Peninsula. The takenoko of Ōtaki lack the concentration of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

typically found in uncooked bamboo shoots, and as such, are uniquely eaten raw in the area as "takenoko sashimi". '' Futomaki'' or ''futomakizushi'', literally "fat roll", is a large version of the sushi roll. The futomaki popularly made in Chiba Prefecture is up to 10 centimeters in diameter. Futomaki in Chiba Prefecture often utilize various ingredients to form a pattern, such as a flower or a

character, when the roll is cut and served.

Sports

The prefecture plays host to two major events in the Japanese athletics calendar: the International Chiba Ekiden and the Chiba International Cross Country. The following sports teams are based in Chiba.

American football

* X-League: Obic Seagulls (

) *X-League: IBM Big Blue ( Yachiyo)

Association football

* J.League (J1): Kashiwa Reysol ( Kashiwa) *J.League (J2): JEF United Ichihara Chiba ( Chiba, Ichihara) *

Japan Football League The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...

: Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa ( Urayasu) *

Kantō Soccer League , abbreviated as KSL, is the Japanese fifth tier of league football, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. It covers most of the Kantō region, as well as the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi, To ...

Vonds Ichihara Vonds Ichihara (''VONDS市原'') is a Japanese football club based in Ichihara, Chiba. The club plays in the first division of the Kantō Soccer League, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. History Founded in 1967, the club was ...

( Ichihara)

Baseball

* NPB:

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

( Chiba)

Basketball

* B.League: Chiba Jets Funabashi ( Funabashi)

Rugby

* Nihon IBM Big Blue ( Yachiyo) * Kubota Spears ( Funabashi) * NEC Green Rockets ( Abiko)

Futsal

* F.League: Bardral Urayasu ( Urayasu)

Volleyball

*V.Challenge League II: Chiba Zelva ( Chiba)

Transportation

Narita International Airport

Most

-bound visitors arriving on international flights land in Narita International Airport, which is situated in Narita in the north of the prefecture, and connected to Tokyo by the East Japan Railway's '' Narita Express'' and the Keisei Electric Railway's '' Skyliner''.

Railways

* East Japan Railway Company ** Sōbu Main Line *** Chūō-Sōbu Line *** Sōbu Line (Rapid) ** Jōban Line *** Jōban Line (Local) *** Jōban Line (Rapid) ** Narita Line ** Uchibō Line ** Sotobō Line ** Keiyō Line **

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a unclosed loop around central Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tok ...

Tōgane Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōami Station in the city of Ōamishirasato, Chiba, Ōamishirasato and Narutō Station in the city of Sanmu, Chiba, Sanmu. ...

** Kashima Line ** Kururi Line * Keisei ** Main Line ** Narita Sky Access ** Chiba Line ** Chihara Line **Higashi Narita Line * Shin-Keisei Line * Hokuso Line * Toyo Rapid Line * Shibayama Railway * Tobu ** Noda Line * Tsukuba Express * Tokyo Metro Tozai Line * Toei Shinjuku Line * Nagareyama Line * Choshi Electric Railway * Kominato Railway * Isumi Railway * Disney Resort Line

People movers

* Chiba Urban Monorail * Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line

Road

Expressways

* Joban Expressway * Narita Airport Expressway * Higashi Kanto Expressway * Tokyo Gaikan Expressway * Tateyama Expressway *

Shuto Expressway The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...

* Keiyo Road * Togane Road * Tokyo Bay Aqua Line

National highways

*Route 6 *Route 14 *Route 16 *Route 51 *Route 124 *Route 126 *Route 127 *Route 128 *Route 294 *Route 295 *Route 296 *Route 297 *Route 298 *Route 356 *Route 357 *Route 408 *Route 409 *Route 410 *Route 464 *Route 465

Tourism

The Tokyo Disney Resort is located in Urayasu near the western border of the prefecture. The Kamogawa Sea World is located in Kamogawa. There are also a number of tourist sites on the Chiba peninsula, such as Nokogiriyama; Kujūkuri Beach; and Onjuku beach. Chiba beach

Politics

Since 2009, the prefectural governor is Eiji Suzuki, better known under his stage name as Kensaku Morita, former actor, member of the House of Representatives ( LDP/Independent – Tokyo 4th district) and member of the House of Councillors (Independent – Tokyo). He was reelected overwhelmingly to a second term as governor in the March 2013 election against only a Communist challenger and a minor, unaffiliated independent. The assembly of Chiba Prefecture has a regular membership of 95, elected in 45 electoral districts, currently still in the unified local election cycle of 1947 (last round

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

). As of July 2014, it is composed as follows: LDP 52 members, DPJ 13,

Kōmeitō , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, ...

7, JCP 4, Shimin Net/ SDP/Independents 4, Your Party 3, four other caucuses with 5 members in total. In the National Diet, Chiba is represented by 13 members from single-member districts in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, and six members (three at-large per election) in the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

. After the most recent Diet elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, the prefecture is represented by eleven Liberal Democrats and two Democrats in the House of Representatives, and three Liberal Democrats, two Democrats, and one Your Party member in the House of Councillors. Current Diet members from Chiba include former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda (H.R., DPJ – 4th district) and former ministers

Kuniko Inoguchi is a Japanese political scientist and politician. She served as Japan's first Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs from 2005 to 2006, and is currently a member of the House of Councillors representing Chiba Prefecture for the ...

(H.C., LDP – class of 2010) and Motoo Hayashi (H.R., LDP – 10th district).

Local government

As of 2014, Chiba is divided into 54 contiguous

(see list above): 37 cities, 16 towns and one village, as in all of postwar Japan each with a directly elected mayor and assembly. The most populous and Chiba's only designated major city is the capital Chiba City. Two cities, Funabashi and Kashiwa, are core cities. After late 20th century mergers, much of the rest of the prefecture is also organized in independent cities: Of the (today purely geographical)

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, only six remain, four of which have only one or two remaining towns or villages. After the reorganization of county and municipal governments in all prefectures in 1889/1890, there had initially been 12 counties and no city in Chiba; Chiba town in Chiba county became the first municipality in Chiba to be elevated to city status in 1921.

Notable people

* Miri Ichika – gravure model and tarento * Jun Ishikawa – composer * Rioka Kanda - singer-songwriter, radio personality * KOSEKI Aquila Raphael * Yoshihiko Noda - politician, the 62nd Prime Minister of Japan * Yoshiko Sakakibara – voice actress * Yuuri – singer/songwriter * Keita Sawa * Kei Shindō – voice actress * Hassei Takano – actor

Police

While by far not as large as that of neighbouring Tokyo, Chiba's police force is amongst the country's tenth largest at more than 10,000 members (including the Narita airport police). As in every prefecture, the police are supervised by the public safety commission; its five members are appointed by the governor with approval by the assembly.Chiba prefectural public safety commission

International relations

Chiba Prefecture has a sister city relationship with: *

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States, since 1990 * Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom * Juanjuí, Peru *

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany, since 2019

In popular culture

*Films set in Chiba include '' The Eel'' (1997), winner of the Palme D'Or. Filming took place in Sawara. *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 are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' (comics) representations include: '' WataMote'', '' 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 is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

'' (animation) representations include: '' The Family's Defensive Alliance'' (set in Funabashi), '' Battle Programmer Shirase'' (Narashino), '' My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU'' and '' Zegapain'' ( Urayasu). *TV series representations include: '' Kisarazu Cat's Eye'' (set in Kisarazu), '' Miotsukushi'' ( Chōshi), ''Beach Boys'' (filmed in Tateyama and Shirahama (now Minamiboso) and '' Yappari Neko ga Suki'' ( Chiba).

References

External links

*
Chiba Prefecture Official Website

{{coord, 35, 36, 18, N, 140, 07, 24, E, scale:500000, display=title Kantō region Prefectures of Japan Populated places established in 1873 1873 establishments in Japan