
is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
located in
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
,
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 ...
. , the city had an estimated
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 59,314 in 21,168 households and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 480 persons per km
2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 38.8%.
The total area of the city is . The city has a large expatriate population from Brazil.
Geography
Jōsō is located in southwestern Ibaraki Prefecture, approximately 50 kilometers north of central Tokyo and 70 kilometers from the prefectural capital at
Mito. Most of the city is flat, with an average elevation of 10 to 20 meters above sea level. The
Kinugawa River flows through the city.
Surrounding municipalities
Chiba Prefecture
*
Noda
Ibaraki Prefecture
*
Bandō
*
Moriya
*
Shimotsuma
*
Tsukuba
*
Tsukubamirai
*
Yachiyo
Climate
Jōsō has a
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Jōsō is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1302 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Jōsō peaked around the year 200 and has declined slightly since.
History
During 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 ...
, the area was part of
Shimōsa Province, and Mitsukaido village developed as a center for river transportation on the Kinugawa River. The town of Mitsukaidō was established within Toyoda District with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The area was transferred to Yūki District in 1894. On July 10, 1954 Mitsukaidō merged with the villages of Sugawara, Ohanawa, Mitsuma, Goka, Ono and Sakate, and was elevated to city status. It further annexed the villages of Sugao and Uchimoriya on April 1, 1956.
On January 1, 2006, Mitsukaidō absorbed the neighboring town of
Ishige,
Yūki District, Ibaraki and officially changed their name to Jōsō. The area suffered much damage from flooding of the Kinugawa River due to heavy rains in September 2015.
Government
Jōsō has a
mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
city council of 22 members. Jōsō, together with neighboring Yachiyo, contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of
Ibaraki 7th district of the
lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of the
Diet of Japan
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
.
Economy
Jōsō has a mixed economy, with three large
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; however, 50% of the city's area is farmland.
Education
Jōsō has 14 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.
In additional there are two
Brazilian schools: Escola e Creche Grupo Opção and Escola Taiyo
[Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão]
Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. One more Brazilian primary school (UBEK – Unidade Brasileira de Ensino Kanto) is now closed
[Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão]
(). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. February 7, 2008. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
Transportation
Railway
Kantō Railway Jōsō Line
* - - - - - -
Highway
*
*
*
Local attractions
Notable people from Jōsō
*
Michiko Hada, actress
*
Kazuhiko Hosokawa, professional golfer
*
Akira Kazami, politician
*
Atsushi Koyano, scholar of contemporary literature
*
Yuko Matsuoka,– comedian
*
Takashi Nagatsuka, writer, poet
*
Takayuki Okada, professional motorcycle racer
*
Tomi Okawa, table tennis player
*
Takashi Ono, judoka
*
Keiji Suzuki, judoka
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joso, Ibaraki
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture
Jōsō, Ibaraki