Fukushima

Fukushima (fookOO'shimä) [key], 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.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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