260px, Chiba Gas LNG storage tank in Tomisato 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

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. 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 to the ...

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 49,914 in 23,753 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 930 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Tomisato is located in the northern center of Chiba prefecture, about 25 kilometers from the prefectural capital at

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

, and 50 to 60 kilometers from central Tokyo. It is also within 5 kilometers of

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

Neighboring municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Narita * Yachimata *

Shisui is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan., the town had an estimated population of 20,660 in 9,888 households and a population density of 1100 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Etymology The name of Shisui in the Japanese l ...

* Shibayama * Sanmu

Climate

Tomisato has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tomisato is 14.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1475 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Tomisato population statistics
/ref> the population of Tomisato has increased significantly since 1970.

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 ...

, Tomisato 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 was an area where the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

had numerous ranches for raising horse. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Tomisato Village was founded on April 1, 1889 within

Inba District is a district located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 43,480 and a density of 845 persons per km2. The total area is 51.48 km2. There are two towns within the district. * Sakae *Shisui ...

, Chiba Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, and the government encouraged the settlement of the area by farmers. During the 1960s and 1970s, the village was the center of the

Sanrizuka Struggle The Sanrizuka Struggle (三里塚闘争, ''Sanrizuka tōsō'') refers to a civil conflict and riots involving the Japanese government and the agricultural community of Sanrizuka, comprising organised opposition by farmers, local residents, and ...

against the construction of the Narita International Airport. After then airport was completed, the population of the village grew rapidly. On April 1, 1985 it was elevated to town status, and later was elevated to city status on April 1, 2002.

Government

Tomisato 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 18 members. Tomisato contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Chiba 13th 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

Tomisato is a regional commercial center whose economy is primarily agricultural. About 68% or more of the area is forest and farmland, and about 14% is residential area. The main crops are rice and watermelons. The city is also a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for workers at Narita Airport, with a commuting rate to Narita city of 27.5% (2010 census).

Education

Tomisato has eight public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

Tomisato itself is not currently served by passenger railway stations. The Narita Railway Company's Yachimata Line operated from 1914 to 1940. However,

Narita Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Narita, Chiba, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Narita Station is served by the Narita Line, and is located 13.1 kilometers from the terminus of line at Sakura Statio ...

and

Keisei Narita Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture Japan, operated by the private railway company, Keisei Electric Railway. It is within walking distance of the JR East Narita Station. Lines Keisei Narita Station is ...

in central Narita are both adjacent the Tomisato border.

Highway

* * *

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture