Japanese Political Geography

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names Further reading

Fukushima

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Fukushima , city (1990 pop. 277,528), capital of Fukushima prefecture, N Honshu, Japan, on the Kiso plain. A silk-textile center, it is a major commercial city of NE Japan, also producing cameras, automobiles, fruits, and bonsai trees.

Fukushima prefecture (1990 pop. 2,129,647), 5,321 sq mi (13,781 sq km), is partly mountainous. Its main agricultural area is watered by the Abukuma River. Rice and tobacco are the major crops; fishing, forestry, and gathering seaweed are the principal occupations. The Joban coalfield is the center of the region's coal mining. Fukushima (the capital), Koriyama , Iwaki , and Aizuwakamatsu are the chief cities.

Coastal areas of the prefecture were devastated by the tsunami that followed the Mar., 2011, NE Honshu earthquake. At the Fukushima No. 1 (Fukushima Daiichi) nuclear power plant, the destruction led to cooling system failures in the plant's reactors and fuel-storage pools, which caused meltdowns at three of the six reactors, explosions due to suspected hydrogen gas buildup at two reactors, and other problems. As a result of what became the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl , radioactive material was released into the atmosphere and ocean. The radiation releases led to concerns over water and food contamination, and complicated the tsunami cleanup in the region around the plant. People were banned from a 12-mi (20-km) evacuation zone beginning in Apr., 2011, and later were evacuated from more distant locales.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Fukushima." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Fukushima." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Fukushim.html

"Fukushima." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Fukushim.html

Learn more about citation styles

Fukushima

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Fukushima, Honshū/Japan A prefecture and city meaning ‘Island of Happiness’ from fuku and shima ‘island’.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Fukushima." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Fukushima." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Fukushima.html

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Fukushima." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Fukushima.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Why Fukushima isn't Chernobyl, despite rise in crisis level.(World) Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor; 4/12/2011
	Was Chernobyl really worse than Fukushima?(USA) Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor; 4/26/2011
	Post-3/11 Literature: Two Writers from Fukushima.(Critical essay) Magazine article from: World Literature Today; 1/1/2012