Fukushima

Fukushima (fk`shĭmä), 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, Taira, and Wakamatsu are the chief cities.

---

Fukushima 

a prefecture in Japan on the island of Honshu. Area, 13,800 sq km. Population, about 2 million (1975). The capital of Fukushima Prefecture is the city of Fukushima.

Most of the territory of Fukushima Prefecture is occupied by rugged mountains, which rise to 2,024 m at the volcano Azuma. The volcano Bandai and Lake Inawashiro are also located in Fukushima. Forests—both broad-leaved and mixed—cover about 65 percent of the prefecture.

The economy is primarily agricultural. The part of Fukushima that lies along the Pacific coast is the most industrially developed. More than 13 percent of the prefecture’s land is under cultivation; rice, barley, and soybeans are the main crops. Fukushima’s potato yield is the second highest in Japan, and the prefecture’s cucumber crop is the country’s largest. Livestock—in particular, swine—are raised.

Fukushima manufactures electrical engineering equipment, chemical products, food, textiles (including silk fabrics), earthenware, porcelains, and wood products. Coal is mined in the Joban Coalfield, and sulfur is extracted. A hydroelectric power plant supplies electricity to Tokyo; the cities of Fukushima and Okuma have atomic power plants. The chief port, especially for fishing, is Iwaki.

---

Fukushima 

a city in Japan, on the island of Honshu, on the Abukuma River. Capital of Fukushima Prefecture. Population, 243,000 (1974). Fukushima is a center of the textile and woodproducts industries. The city also has chemical and machine-building plants. An atomic power plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts is located in Fukushima.