260px, Peanut fields in Yachimata 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 ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

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 68,769 in 32,118 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 920 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Yachimata is located in north-central part of Chiba prefecture, about 20 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba, and about 50 to 60 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The city is located on the Shimosa Plateau, with an elevation of 14 to 70 meters above sea level. The geographic central part of the city forms the urban area, with flat upland fields surrounding it, and paddy fields scattered in the southwest and north. The city is approximately 7.7 kilometers from east to west by 16 kilometers long north to south. The city is noted for its traditional wind break forests, of which some 179 hectares survive.

Neighboring municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Chiba *

Sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

* Sanmu * Shisui *

Tōgane is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,780 in 26,907 households and a population density of 650 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tōgane is home to the ''K ...

* Tomisato

Climate

Yachimata has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yachimata is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1503 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 4.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Yachimata population statistics
/ref> the population of Yachimata peaked around the year 2010 and has declined since.

History

Yachimata was part of a region of horse ranches under the direct control of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

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 ...

. 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the hamlet of Yachimata was founded on November 2, 1872 within Inba District, Chiba Prefecture. Yachimata was officially designated a village on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system, and was elevated to town status on January 1, 1919. The village expanded in 1954 through annexation of a portion of neighboring Hyuga Village in Sanbu District and by merging with the village of Kawakami on November 1, 1954. Yachimata was elevated to city status on April 1, 1992.

Government

Yachimata 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 20 members. Yachimata contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 9th 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

Yachimata is a regional commercial center whose economy is primarily agricultural. Yachimata is well known for its

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s. It is included in the Tokyo metropolitan urban employment area, and the commuting rate to Chiba city is 13.7% per the 2010 census.

Education

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

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...

–

Sōbu Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It connects Tokyo with the east coast of Chiba Prefecture, passing through the cities of Funabashi, Chiba, and Chōshi. Its name derives from the ...

* -

Highways

* *

Notable people from Yachimata

* Yoshiki Hiraki, professional soccer player

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture