Kashima, Ibaraki

Geography

Kashima is located in southeastern Ibaraki Prefecture, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east and Lake Kitaura (Lake Kasumigaura) to the west, with a width of less than 10 kilometers from east-to-west. It is approximately 110 kilometers to the northeast of Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Hokota
• Itako
• Kamisu
• Namegata

Climate

Kashima has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kashima is 15.0 C. The average annual rainfall is 1581.9 mm with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.6 C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 C. |Jan record high C = 19.3 |Feb record high C = 23.6 |Mar record high C = 24.3 |Apr record high C = 29.4 |May record high C = 32.6 |Jun record high C = 33.6 |Jul record high C = 36.6 |Aug record high C = 36.1 |Sep record high C = 36.4 |Oct record high C = 32.8 |Nov record high C = 25.6 |Dec record high C = 23.8 |Jan record low C = -5.8 |Feb record low C = -6.0 |Mar record low C = -3.7 |Apr record low C = -0.7 |May record low C = 5.1 |Jun record low C = 9.8 |Jul record low C = 13.8 |Aug record low C = 15.8 |Sep record low C = 10.5 |Oct record low C = 4.7 |Nov record low C = 0.7 |Dec record low C = -3.8 |script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値） | access-date = March 31, 2022}}{{cite web |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値） | access-date = March 31, 2022}}}}

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kashima has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

| 1920 | 18,922 | 1930 | 20,284 | 1940 | 21,701 | 1950 | 27,481 | 1960 | 26,811 | 1970 | 34,700 | 1980 | 51,355 | 1990 | 59,092 | 2000 | 62,287 | 2010 | 66,093 | 2020 | 66,950

History

Kashima was developed from the Nara period together with the ichinomiya of Hitachi Province, Kashima Shrine. After the Meiji Restoration, the town of Kashima was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 within Kashima District. In 1954, Kashima annexed with the neighboring villages of Takamatsu, Toyosu, Toyosato and Namino. Kashima merged with the village of Ono on September 1, 1995 and was elevated to city status.

Government

Kashima has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members. Kashima contributes one member to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Kashima is the central city of the Kashima Industrial Zone, and it has a large industrial park with about 1500 factories, especially petrochemical and steel plants. The Japanese government created this zone in 1963, and the development was mostly completed in 1973. Agriculture and commercial fishing also play a part in the local economy.

Education

Kashima has 12 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private middle school and two private high schools.

• Seishin Gakuen Women's Junior College (1984–2003)

Sports

Kashima Antlers is the local J. League football club.

Transportation

Railway

Highway

Seaport

• Port of Kashima

Sister cities

• ROK Seogwipo, Jeju Province, Republic of Korea, since November 2003
• China Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China, since November 2008

Local attractions

• Kashima Shrine

Notable people

• Tsukahara Bokuden, swordsman
• Harumi Hanayagi, actress
• Yuichi Nemoto, former soccer player
• Ryuta Sasaki, former soccer player
• Hitoshi Sogahata, soccer player
• Juri Takahashi, singer, dancer, K-pop idol and former J-pop idol, member of K-pop girlgroup Rocket Punch

Gallery

File:Kamisu Ibaraki.JPG|Port of Kashima with Kamisu in the foreground File:Kashima Soccer Stadium 1.jpg|Kashima Soccer Stadium File:Kashima Shrine main torii at dusk - sept 22 2015.jpg|The Torii Gate at the entrance of Kashima Shrine File:Monument for Kashima Antlers near Kashima Shrine.JPG|Monument for Kashima Antlers near Kashima Shrine

References

References

1. "Ibaraki prefectural official statistics".
2. "Kashima Shrine: The Spiritual Heart of Ibaraki".
3. "Kashima Jingu Grand Shrine {{!}} Visit {{!}} IBARAKI GUIDE".
4. [https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-ibaraki.php Kashima population statistics]
5. (2024-06-09). "Kashima Shrine".
6. "市長プロフィール - 市長室".
7. "常任委員会名簿 {{!}} 茨城県議会".
8. "市長の部屋へようこそ".
9. "Nippon East Japan Works (Kashima) steel plant".
10. (2024). "data {{!}} Investment Opportunities in Japan's Regions - Investing in Japan - Japan External Trade Organization".
11. "List of Schools by Prefecture".
12. "KASHIMA ANTLERS OFFICIAL WEBSITE".
13. (December 2009). "Status of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Sister City". Jeju Self-Governing Province.
14. (2005). "Yancheng". Jiangsu Provincial government official site.