Chūbu region
Chūbu region
中部地方 | |
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US$909 billion | |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
The Chūbu region (中部地方, Chūbu-chihō), Central region, or Central Japan (中部日本, Chūbu-nihon) is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (ken): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi.[2]
It is located directly between the Kantō region and the Kansai region and includes the major city of Nagoya as well as Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan coastlines, extensive mountain resorts, and Mount Fuji.
The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, snowy in winter.
Although Mie is part of Kinki/Kansai/Western Japan in traditional geographical regional divisions, Northern Mie is part of the metropolitan area around Nagoya, and Mie is in many practical contexts considered to be part of Tōkai/Chūbu/Central Japan. Including Mie, Chūbu had a population of 23,010,276 as of 1 June 2019.
Other definitions
In the MLIT of the central government, the jurisdiction of the Chūbu regional development bureau (中部地方整備局, Chūbu-chihō seibi-kyoku; (ja)) extends to five prefectures: Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie and the Southern part of Nagano.[3]
In the National Police Agency, the Chūbu Regional Police Bureau (中部管区警察局, Chūbu kanku keisatsu-kyoku; (ja)) is responsible for six prefectural police forces: Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Aichi and Mie.[4]
In local government, the Chūbu area governors' association (中部圏知事会, Chūbuken chijikai) unites the governors of Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie and Shiga and the mayor of Nagoya City in Aichi.[5]
Geography
Located in the center of the
The terrain is mainly rugged and mountainous except for the Nōbi Plain and coastal areas. The steep Japanese Alps rise in the central area. It is located between Tokyo and Osaka, which are the east–west centers of the Japanese economy and culture. Thus the Chubu region has various differences between the eastern side and the western side.
Subregions
The Chūbu region covers a large and geographically diverse area of
Tōkai
The Tōkai region, mostly bordering the Pacific Ocean, is a narrow corridor interrupted in places by mountains that descend into the sea.
Since the
A number of small alluvial plains are found in the corridor section. A mild climate, favorable location relatively close to the great metropolitan complexes, and availability of fast transportation have made this area a center for truck-gardening and out-of-season vegetables. Upland areas of rolling hills are extensively given over to the growing of mandarin oranges and tea. Nagoya, which faces Ise Bay, is a center for heavy industry, including iron and steel and machinery manufacturing. The corridor also has a number of small but important industrial centers. The western part of Tōkai includes the Nōbi Plain, where rice was being grown by the seventh century.
Chūkyō
The three Tōkai prefectures centered on
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Shizuoka City
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Gifu City
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Kinki region)
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Tsu City
(Kinki region)
Kōshin'etsu
Kōshin'etsu is an area of complex and high rugged mountains—often called the "roof of Japan"—that include the Japanese Alps. The population is chiefly concentrated in six elevated basins connected by narrow valleys. It was long a main silk-producing area, although output declined after World War II. Much of the labor formerly required in silk production was absorbed by the district's diversified manufacturing industry, which included precision instruments, machinery, textiles, food processing, and other light manufacturing. Kōshin'etsu means Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures; Niigata is also included to the Hokuriku region. Yamanashi, Nagano and northern Gifu Prefecture are sometimes referred to as Chūō-kōchi or Tōsan region.
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Niigata City
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Nagano City
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Kōfu City
Hokuriku
The Hokuriku region lies on the Sea of Japan coastline, northwest of the massive mountains that comprise Kōshin'etsu. Hokuriku includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, most of Niigata and Toyama,[6]
The district has very heavy snowfall (sometimes enough to block major roads) and strong winds in winter, and its turbulent rivers are the source of abundant
Historically, Hokuriku's development is owed to markets in the Kansai region, however recently the urban areas at the heart of the Kantō region and Tōkai region are having a heavy an influence as well. Hokuriku has port facilities which are mainly to facilitate trade with Russia, Korea and China. Transportation between Niigata and Toyama used to be geographically limited and so Niigata has seen especially strong influence from the Kantō region, because of this Niigata Prefecture is often classified as being part of the Kōshin'etsu region with Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures.
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Toyama City
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Fukui City
Demographics
The three most dense areas of Chūbu region are
Per Japanese census data,[7] and,[8] Chūbu region has had positive population growth.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
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1920 | 10,702,000 | — |
1930 | 11,978,000 | +11.9% |
1940 | 13,113,000 | +9.5% |
1950 | 15,458,000 | +17.9% |
1960 | 16,565,000 | +7.2% |
1970 | 18,091,000 | +9.2% |
1980 | 19,984,000 | +10.5% |
1990 | 21,023,000 | +5.2% |
2000 | 21,628,238 | +2.9% |
2010 | 21,715,822 | +0.4% |
2020 | 22,078,654 | +1.7% |
Note: This excludes Mie Prefecture |
Major cities
List of 20 major cities in Chūbu | |||||||||
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Rank | Cities | Prefecture | Population | Rank | Cities | Prefecture | Population |
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1
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Nagoya | Aichi | 2,331,078 | 11 | Toyohashi | Aichi | 377,453 | ||
2 |
Niigata | Niigata | 797,591 | 12 | Nagano | Nagano | 370,632 | ||
3 |
Hamamatsu | Shizuoka | 791,707 | 13 | Kasugai | Aichi | 306,764 | ||
4 |
Shizuoka | Shizuoka | 690,881 | 14 | Nagaoka | Niigata | 266,539 | ||
5 |
Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 466,029 | 15 | Fukui | Fukui | 264,217 | ||
6 |
Toyota | Aichi | 426,162 | 16 | Fuji | Shizuoka | 245,015 | ||
7 |
Toyama | Toyama | 415,844 | 17 | Matsumoto | Nagano | 239,466 | ||
8 |
Gifu | Gifu | 400,118 | 18 | Numazu | Shizuoka | 189,486 | ||
9 |
Okazaki | Aichi | 386,999 | 19 | Jōetsu | Niigata | 189,430 | ||
10 |
Ichinomiya | Aichi | 379,654 | 20 | Kōfu | Yamanashi | 188,824 |
- Designated city
- Nagoya City: a designated city, the capital of Aichi Prefecture
- Niigata City: a designated city, the capital of Niigata Prefecture
- Hamamatsu City: a designated city
- Shizuoka City:a designated city, the capital of Shizuoka Prefecture
- Core city
- Kanazawa City: a core city, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture
- Toyama City: a core city, the capital of Toyama Prefecture
- Gifu City: a core city, the capital of Gifu Prefecture
- Nagano City: a core city, the capital of Nagano Prefecture
- Fukui City: a core city, the capital of Fukui Prefecture
- Kofu City: a core city, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture
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Niigata City
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Shizuoka City
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Toyama City
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Nagano City
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Kofu City
Other major cities
- Toyota City: a core city
- Okazaki City: a core city
- Toyohashi City: a core city
- Ichinomiya City: a special city
- Kasugai City: a special city
- Nagaoka City: a special city
- Fuji City: a special city
- Matsumoto City: a special city
- Jōetsu City: a special city
- Numazu City: a special city
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Numazu City
See also
- Geography of Japan
- Hokuriku dialect
- List of regions of Japan
- Tōkai–Tōsan dialect
References
- ^ "県民経済計算(平成23年度 - 令和2年度)(2008SNA、平成27年基準計数)<47都道府県、4政令指定都市分>".
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Chūbu" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 126, p. 126, at Google Books
- ^ MLIT, Chūbu regional development bureau, organization (Japanese)
- ^ NPA, Chūbu Regional Police Bureau, Organization (Japanese)
- ^ Aichi prefectural government, Chūbu area governors' association (Japanese)
- ^ Nussbaum, "Hokuriku" at p. 344, p. 344, at Google Books
- ^ Aichi 1995-2020 population statistics
- ^ Chūbu region 1920-2000 population statistics
Sources
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002 [1996]). Japan Encyclopedia. Trans. by Käthe Roth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: OCLC 58053128.
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Japan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division.
External links
- Chubu travel guide from Wikivoyage