is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

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 t ...

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 n ...

. , the village 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 usi ...

of 14,028 in 6096 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 500 persons per km². The total area of the village is . It is the only remaining municipality classed as a

in Chiba Prefecture.

Geography

Chōsei is located in the eastern part of Chiba prefecture, about 30 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and within 60 to 70 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The village faces

the Pacific Ocean 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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and is located in the southern part of the Kujūkuri Plain (

Kujūkuri Beach is a sandy beach that occupies much of the northeast coast of the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The beach is approximately long, making it the second longest beach in Japan. Kujūkuri Beach is a popular swimming and surfing dest ...

). The terrain is gentle and has few undulations. The village area is dotted with ponds for agricultural water. The Ichinomiya River empties into the Pacific Ocean at Kujukuri Beach in Chōsei.

Neighboring municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Mobara *

Ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise ...

Mutsuzawa is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,928 in 2796 households and a population density of 190 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Located in the mountainous area that ...

Shirako 260px, Shirako town hall is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,040 in 4942 households and a population density of 400 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Shirak ...

Climate

Chōsei 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 Chōsei is 15.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1683 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 5.7 °C.

Demographics

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

History

Chōsei is located in former Kazusa Province. The villages of Takanehongo, Yatsumi, Ichimatsu were established with the creation of the modern municipalities' system on April 1, 1889.Chōsei Village was created on November 3, 1953 from the merger of these hamlets. Some minor territorial adjustments were made with neighboring Ichinomiya in 1954 and 1955.

Government

Chōsei 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 multi ...

village council of 15 members. Together with the other municipalities in Chōsei District, Chōsei contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Chiba 11th district 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 paral ...

Economy

The primary industry of Chōsei is small-scale

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, and the growing of fruits, notably melons and tomatoes. The village is also located within the Minami Kanto gas field, and extraction of

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

and production of iodine is also a major industry.

Education

Chōsei has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

– Sotobō Line *

Highway

*Kujukuri Toll Road *

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosei, Chiba Villages in Chiba Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Chōsei