The City of Chiba was built on January 1st,1921 and became the 12th designated city approved by the Japanese Government on April 1st,1992. Chiba governs 6 districts. It covers an area of 272 km², with a population of 930,600. It is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture and political, economic and cultural hub of the Prefecture. As the 12th designated city of Japan, it is one of the important cities of the Greater Tokyo Area. It is 40 kilometers away from Tokyo and about 30 kilometers from Narita International Airport. In order to change the situation that too many industrial and commercial activities took place in Tokyo, the City of Chiba was listed as ”the Core City for Business”. Chiba has warm climate with average temperature of 16.3 centigrade and annual precipitation of 910 millimeters.
Chiba is an economic powerhouse. It boasts the international trade port---Chiba Port, whose cargo handling capacity ranks 4th in the world and No. 1 in Japan. Machinery, steel, chemicals and heavy oils are major goods which are exported from Chiba Port, while the leading four imported merchandize comprise of petrochemicals, crude oil, iron ores and coals. There’re a lot of countries all over the world which have ex-import transactions with Chiba.
Chiba has two Urban Sub-Centers. Soga Regional Heavy Industrial Zone is also called as Tokyo-Chiba Industrial Zone. Its major industries include steel (represented by Kawasaki Steel Corporation), petrochemical industry, oil refining, power generation, machinery manufacturing, transportation and warehousing. Another Urban Sub-Center is Makuhari Messe Exhibition Center. The center covers an exhibition area of over 72,000 m². A lot of international conferences and international trade fairs are hold here. The whole Urban Sub-Center is divided into 6 districts.
The City of Chiba not only has city functions of the 21st century, but also is blessed with fantastic natural environment with pleasant climate. There’re three man-made beaches including Inage Beach, Makuhari Beach and Kemigawa Beach. These beaches are also perfect places for windsurfing and yachts.
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