Chiba Prefecture shares border with Saitama Prefecture
During the Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) Chiba Prefecture was controlled by American forces from the second floor of the prefectural capitol building in the city of Chiba. Numerous other cities in the prefecture, including Chōshi to the north and Tateyama to the south, were used as bases of the occupation; rich agricultural areas across the prefecture somewhat safeguarded the region's population from potential food shortages, and starvation, immediately following the war. The immediate post-war period was characterized by carefully planned industrial expansion in the north of the prefecture, and the significant increase of agriculture after land reforms across the prefecture. The Keiyō Industrial Zone brought together smaller, industrial areas along the entirety of the western coast of Chiba Prefecture, and the industrial zone became (and remains) an important center of heavy industrial production and large-scale port facilities in Japan. Cities to the northeast of the prefecture (in close proximity to Tokyo) were connected by rail to the capitol, and became and remain bedroom communities to Tokyo. Narita International Airport began operation in 1978 in Narita, after much protest to replace the overcrowded  Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport). The majority of international air traffic enters Japan via Chiba Prefecture. The cultivation of rice and vegetables to feed the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area expanded greatly and became a source of income to the northeast and central areas of the prefecture. The expansion of agriculture in the central and southern regions of the prefecture was in contrast to the depopulation of these areas as a significant part of the population moved to the northeast of the prefecture as a result of the urbanization of Japan, a process that continues into the 21st century.
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, caused some damage which affected areas as far south as Chiba Prefecture. While the loss of life and damage to housing and industry was far less than in the Tōhoku region, 20 people were killed in Chiba Prefecture, mostly from the tsunami that hit Asahi to the northeast of the prefecture; 13 deaths were recorded. An oil refinery fire broke out at the Cosmo Oil Chiba Refinery, in Ichihara, and was widely covered in the news media following the triple disaster. Large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks burned from March 11–21, 2011. Soil liquefaction, in areas of reclaimed land across the northern and western areas of Chiba Prefecture, caused damage to housing. Chiba City, Funabashi, Narashino, and especially Urayasu were greatly affected. As a result of permanent damage to housing stock (due to soil liquefaction, and evidence of radioactive materials caused by the Fukushima radiation), the population of Chiba Prefecture fell for the first time since 1920.Geography
Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north at the Tone River, Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture to the west at the Edo River, the Pacific Ocean to the east and Tokyo Bay around its southern boundary.  Most of Chiba lies on the hilly Boso Peninsula, a rice farming region: the east coast, known as the Kujūkuri Plain, is an especially productive area. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the Kantō region that extends into the urban agglomeration of Tokyo and Saitama. The Kuroshio Current flows near Chiba, which keeps it relatively warm in winter and cooler in summer than neighbouring Tokyo.
adjoins borders neighbors is adjacent to