Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, Kantō Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Ichihara is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The city is home, together with the city of Chiba, to the JEF United football club. The whole city is also parts of Greater Tokyo Area.

History The area of modern Ichihara is the centre of ancient Kazusa province. The ruins of the Nara period Kazusa Kokubun-ji provincial temple have been found within the borders of Ichihara, although the exact location of the Nara-period provincial capital remains uncertain. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested between the Chiba clan to the north, and the Satomi clan to the south. During the Edo period, the area was divided between Goi Domain, Tsurumaki Domain and large areas of tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate and administered by various hatamoto.

Timeline • During the Meiji period, the area was reorganized into 171 villages under Ichihara District, Chiba Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. • In September 1923, the city was affected by Great Kanto earthquake. • By 1945, these villages had been consolidated into five towns and 16 villages. • Through further consolidation and mergers, the city of Ichihara was founded on May 1, 1963. • On 1 October 1967, the neighboring town of Nansō, and village of Kamo were merged into Ichihara. • On 11 March 2011, the city was struck by earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, which causes of the natural gas storage tanks at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara were set on fire by the earthquake.

Geography Ichihara is located in the western part of the Bōsō Peninsula, and geographically is the largest of Chiba Prefecture's cities and towns. The south is a mountainous area connected to the Boso hills. The highly industrialised northern part of the city faces Tokyo Bay. Ichihara, dense in housing developments, serves as a satellite town of Tokyo and Chiba City.

Surrounding municipalities Chiba Prefecture • Chiba • Mobara • Sodegaura • Kisarazu • Kimitsu • Nagara • Chōnan • Ōtaki.

Economy The city's economy is fueled by a large industrial complex overlooking Tokyo Bay. It contains the largest number of oil refineries in Japan, as well as power, petrochemical and shipbuilding companies.

Education • Teikyo Heisei University (帝京平成大学) is a private university in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, established in 1987.