is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Kamikawa Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, 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 ...

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 ...

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 town 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 2,571 in 1353 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 10 people per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Aibetsu is located at the confluence of the Ishikari River and the Aibetsu River at the northeastern end of the Kamikawa Basin.

Neighbouring municipalities

Shibetsu file:Shibetsu city center area Aerial photograph.2011.jpg, 270px, downtown Shibetsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 16,400 in 706 households, and a populat ...

** Kamikawa **

Tōma , translating simply "interval", is a Japanese martial arts term referring to the space between two opponents in combat; formally, the "engagement distance". The concept of incorporates not just the distance between opponents, but also the tim ...

** Pippu

Climate

Aibetsu 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 ''Dfb'') characterized by cold summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Aibetsu is 5.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1387 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 19.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -9.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Aibetsu is as shown below. The town is in a long period of sustained population loss.

History

The area of Aibetsu was part of

Matsumae Domain file:Matsumae Nagahiro.jpg, 270px, Matsumae Nagahiro, final daimyo of Matsumae Domain The Matsumae Domain (松前藩), a prominent domain during the Edo period, was situated in Matsumae, Matsumae Island (Ishijima), which is currently known as M ...

in 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 ...

. In 1895, 179 households of settlers from

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

and

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

settled in the Aibetsu area. In 1906 the second-class village of Aibetsu was established. In 1924 Kamikawa Village, Kamikawa District (currently Kamikawa Town) separated from Aibetsu. Aibetsu became a first-class village in 1937 and was raised to town status in 1961.

Government

Aibetsu 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 ...

town council of nine members. Aibetsu, collectively with the other municipalities of Kawakami sub-prefecture, contributes three members to the Hokkaidō Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Hokkaidō 6th 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

Rice farming is the main industry, but mushroom cultivation, which began in 1972, is also a pillar of Aibetsu's agriculture, and the town is known as one of the leading "mushroom villages" in Hokkaido. Approximately 80% of the town area is forest, and forestry and woodworking are also thriving.

Education

Aibetsu has one public combined elementary/junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railways

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

Sekihoku Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between in Asahikawa and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from the first Kanji characters of and , names of 19th century provinces along t ...

: - -

Highways

Asahikawa-Monbetsu Expressway *

Culture

Mascot

Aibetsu's mascots are and . *Ai-chanman is a superhero mushroom. He was unveiled in 1985. *Lovely-chan, like Ai-chanman, is also a superhero mushroom. She is also Ai-chanman's lover.

References

External links

Official Website
Towns in Hokkaido Aibetsu, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub