Ushiku, Ibaraki
Geography. Ushiku is located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, in the low-lying marshy flatlands south of Lake Kasumigaura. It is about 50 kilometers from central Tokyo. Climate. Ushiku has a Humid continental climate (Köppen "Cfa") characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ushiku is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1304 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C. Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of  Ushiku rapidly increased over the past 40 years. History. The area of Ushiku developed as a castle town around Ushiku Domain, a minor feudal holding under the Tokugawa shogunate in the Edo period. The village of Ushiku was created after the Meiji restoration with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On January 1, 1954 it was elevated to town status and to city status on June 1, 1986. On January 31, 2020, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit 6 Kilometre west of the town. The official time of the earthquake was 17:07:47 (UTC). Government. Ushiku has  a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Ushiku contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy. Ushiku is a local commercial center and has a small industrial park. It is also a bedroom community for Tokyo Metropolis. However, the local economy remains based on agriculture, primarily rice cultivation. Education. Ushiku has eight public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government , and two public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private combined middle/high school. Transportation. Railway. JR East – Jōban Line