Yamagata

Yamagata, city (1990 pop. 249,487), capital of Yamagata prefecture, N Honshu, Japan. The city produces consumer goods, computer equipment, and cast metal and is the site of Yamagata Univ. Yamagata prefecture (1990 pop. 1,255,556), 3,607 sq mi (9,342 sq km), yields high quality rice. Lumber, fish, electrical machinery, paper, and silk are produced, and deposits of petroleum, zinc, and natural gas are exploited. It contains Bandai-Asahi National Park.

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Yamagata 

a prefecture in Japan, in the northern part of the island of Honshu. Area, 9,300 sq km. Population, 1.2 million (1975). The capital is the city of Yamagata.

Most of Yamagata Prefecture is occupied by mountains, with elevations ranging generally from 1,500 to 1,900 m; the highest peak is the volcano Tyokai, which has an elevation of 2,230 m. A low-lying coastal plain is found in the area bordering the Sea of Japan.

Located in the Tohoku Economic Region, Yamagata Prefecture has an economy based on both agriculture and industry. As of 1970, approximately 38 percent of the economically active population was employed in agriculture. Approximately 15 percent of the land is under cultivation, with the principal crops being rice, wheat, and barley; as of 1971, the rice harvest was 550,000 tons. There are also orchards and vineyards in the prefecture, and sericulture, meat farming, and dairy farming are practiced. Natural gas, oil, sulfur, and zinc and copper ores are extracted.

As of 1971, machine building (especially the production of electrotechnical equipment) accounted for 30 percent of the total value of Yamagata’s industrial product; food processing accounted for 20 percent, the production of textiles for 13 percent, the chemical industry for 5 percent, and ferrous metallurgy for 5 percent. Other industries include nonferrous metallurgy and the manufacture of glass, ceramic, and wood products. There is logging in the mountain regions and fishing along the coast.

S. A. DEBABOV

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Yamagata 

a city in Japan, in the northern part of the island of Honshu. Capital of Yamagata Prefecture. Population, 212,300 (1974). Yamagata is a transportation center. Its industries include machine building, nonferrous metallurgy, food processing, the production of textiles (chiefly silk), and the manufacture of wood products. There is also a cottage industry for the production of lacquer ware. Yamagata is a center of sericulture.