Fukushima Prefecture

Fukushima Prefecture (福島県, ふくしまけん; Fukushima-ken) is located in the Tohoku region on the island of Honshu, Japan. The capital is the city of Fukushima.

History

Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima Prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.

In the V century, checkpoints were established in Shirakawa and Nakoso to protect so-called "Japan civilized" in the north of the "barbarians" In the south. Fukushima became Mutsu after the Taika Reform, established in 646.

In 718, the provinces of Iwase and Iwaki were created, but these areas were reverted to Mutsu between 722 and 724.

The province of Fukushima was conquered by the Prince of Subaru in 1293. This region of Japan is known as Michinoku and Ōshū.

The Fukushima Incident took place in the prefecture when Yūhei Satō was governor in 2011.

After the 2011 nuclear accident, the Usuiso beach located in this prefecture reopened after seven years, in July 2017.

Earthquake and tsunami

Nuclear accident

In the aftermath of the earthquake and the tsunami that followed, the outer housings of two of the six reactors at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma exploded followed by a partial meltdown and fires in three of the other units. Many residents were evacuated to nearby locations due to the development of a large evacuation zone around the plant. Radiation levels near the plant peaked at 400 mSv/h (microsieverts per hour) following the earthquake and tsunami, due to damage sustained. This resulted in increased levels of radiation recorded across Japan. On April 11, 2011, officials upgraded the disaster to a level 7, the same as the Chernobyl catastrophe.

Geography

Map of the Fukushima Prefecture.

Fukushima is the southernmost prefecture in the Tōhoku region, and the closest to Tokyo. It is divided by mountain ranges into three regions called (from west to east) Aizu, Nakadōri, and Hamadōri.

The coastal region of Hamadōri borders the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most temperate regions in the region, while the Nakadōri region is the agricultural heart of the prefecture and home to the capital, the city of Fukushima. The Aizu mountainous region has lakes, forests, and places where it snows in winter.

Cities

• Aizuwakamatsu
• Date
• Fukushima (capital)
• Iwaki
• Kitakata
• Kōriyama
• Minamisōma
• Motomiya
• Nihonmatsu
• Shirakawa
• Sōma
• Sukagawa
• Tamura

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

• Adachi District
  • ⋅tama
• Date District
  • Kawamata
  • Koori
  • Kunimi
• Futaba District
  • Smoking
  • Hirono
  • Katsurao
  • Kawauchi
  • Namie
  • Naraha
  • ⋅kuma
  • Tomioka
• Higashishirakawa District
  • Hanawa
  • Samegawa
  • Tanagura
  • Yamatsuri
• Ishikawa District
  • Asakawa
  • Furudono
  • Hirata
  • Ishikawa
  • Tamakawa
• Iwase District
  • Kagamiishi
  • Ten'ei
• Kawanuma District
  • Aizubange
  • Yanaizu
  • Yugawa
• Minamiaizu District
  • Hinoemata
  • Minamiaizu
  • Shimogō
  • Tadami
• Nishishirakawa District
  • Izumizaki
  • Nakajima
  • Nishigō
  • Yabuki
• District of ignonuma
  • Aizumisato
  • Kaneyama
  • Mishima
  • Shōwa
• Sōma District
  • Iitate
  • Shinchi
• Tamura District
  • Miharu
  • Ono
• Yama District
  • Bandai
  • Inawashiro
  • Kitashiobara
  • Nishiaizu

Economy

Nuclear power. There are two nuclear plants. Fukushima-I: up to March 11, 2011, it had six reactors, and two more planned to be put into operation in 2013 and 2014. Fukushima-II: has four reactors.

Culture