is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 59,314 in 21,168 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 480 persons per km². 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 Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

. Most of the city is flat, with an average elevation of 10 to 20 meters above sea level. The

Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

flows through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture *

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

Tsukubamirai is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,035 in 20,030 households and a population density of 645 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 26.3%. The total area of th ...

* Bandō * Shimotsuma * Moriya * Yachiyo Chiba Prefecture *

Noda NoDa (short for "North Davidson") is a popular arts district in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the North Charlotte neighborhood on and around North Davidson Street and 36th Street, approximately one mile northeast of Up ...

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 freezing ...

(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 or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the area was part of

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

, 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 Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

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, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

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 , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Jōsō has a mixed economy, with three large

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, 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 park, ...

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 closedEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão
(). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. February 7, 2008. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.

Transportation

Railway

Kantō Railway is a private railway company, which operates two lines in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. The company is a subsidiary of Keisei Electric Railway and other companies. Additionally, the company has a bus department in Ibaraki Prefecture and Chiba ...

Jōsō Line The is a railway line in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kantō Railway. It is a non-electrified line which connects Toride to Shimodate. The Jōsō Line connects with the Tsukuba Express line, which opened ...

* - - - - - -

Highway

* * *

Local attractions

Notable people from Jōsō

Michiko Hada , (born 24 September 1968 in Mitsukaido, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese actress. Filmography Television *'' The Queen's Classroom'' (2005) *''Keishicho Sōsa Ikka 9 gakari'' (2006–) *''Hiyokko'' (2017), Kimiko Sukegawa Film *'' ...

, actress * Yuko Matsuoka,– comedian *

Takayuki Okada Takayuki Okada (May 8, 1973 – August 8, 2003), more widely known as Giant Ochiai, was a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Okada's MMA record was 3-3-2 (win–loss–draw). Career As a student, Okada won the All Japan I ...

, professional motorcycle racer *

Keiji Suzuki is a Japanese judoka. He won the Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight (+100 kg) division in 2004. He is also a two-time world champion. He is noted for being a remarkably small judoka in the heavyweight division; he also regularly com ...

, judoka * Takashi Ono, judoka *

Kazuhiko Hosokawa Kazuhiko Hosokawa ( ja, 細川和彦, born 28 December 1970) is a Japanese professional golfer. Career Hosokawa has won eight tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour and featured in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings. He has also played ...

, professional golfer *

Tomi Okawa Tomi Okawa (born 26 February 1932) is a former international table tennis player from Japan. Career From 1953 to 1961 Okawa won five medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the World Table Tennis Championships. The five World Champions ...

, table tennis player *

Takashi Nagatsuka was a Japanese poet and novelist. According to prominent historian Ann Waswo, Nagatsuka Takashi was born into a landowning family. Generally, he was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. More specifically, his place of birth was 国生村 (Kossh� ...

, writer, poet *

Akira Kazami Akira Kazami (風見章, ''Kazami Akira''; 1886–1961) was a Japanese politician. He served as Secretary-General of the First Konoe Cabinet (1937-1939)

, politician * Atsushi Koyano, scholar of contemporary literature

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joso, Ibaraki Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Jōsō, Ibaraki