Tōkai, Ibaraki

Tōkai 東海村
Village
Tōkai village hall Tōkai village hall
Flag of Tōkai Flag Official seal of Tōkai Seal
Location of Tōkai in Ibaraki Prefecture Location of Tōkai in Ibaraki Prefecture
Tōkai
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki Prefecture
District	Naka
Area
• Total	37.98 km2 (14.66 sq mi)
Population (September 2015)
• Total	37,855
• Density	997/km2 (2,580/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Japanese black pine
- Flower	Lilium maculatum
- Bird	Japanese white-eye
Phone number	029-282-1711
Address	3-7-1 Tōkai, Tōkai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-1117
Website	Official website

Tōkai (東海村, Tōkai-mura) is a village located in Naka District, Ibaraki|Naka District]], Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of September 2015, the village had an estimated population of 37,885 and a population density of 997 persons per km². Its total area was 37.98 km². The Japan Atomic Energy Agency along with other organizations currently operate a number of nuclear technology research facilities in the town. In particular, Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant is located in Tōkai.

Geography

Located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Tokyo, Tōkai is bordered to the east by the Pacific Ocean.

Surrounding municipalities

• Ibaraki Prefecture
  • Hitachi
  • Naka
  • Hitachinaka

History

The villages of Muramatsu and Ishigami were created with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On March 31, 1955 the two villages merged to form the village of Tōkai. In 1956, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute was established at Tōkai. The village was the site of the Tokaimura nuclear accident which occurred at the JCO nuclear reprocessing plant on 30 September 1999, which killed two people.

Economy

The nuclear power industry, together with associated government and private research facilities, and government largess form the basis of the local economy.

Education

Tōkai has six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. In addition, the University of Tokyo and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies have research facilities located at Tōkai.

Transportation

Railway

• JR East – Jōban Line
  • Tōkai

Highway

• Japan National Route 6
• Japan National Route 245

Seaports

• Port of Ibaraki

International relations

• Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States of America.

Noted people

• Masaru Hashimoto – politician
• Teruaki Kobayashi – professional soccer player

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (Japanese)
• Report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the nuclear accident
• Official timeline of the nuclear accident