IBARAKI

prefecture (ken), central Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. It occupies 2,351 sq mi (6,090 sq km) of the northeastern Kanto Plain. Ibaraki is bordered (south) by the Tone-gawa (Tone River) and contains part of Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-national Park. Main features of this section of the park include Kasumiga-ura (Lake Kasumi), the second largest Japanese lake after Lake Biwa; the canals and creeks of the Tone River delta; the ancient Shint o Kashima Shrine; and the tourist centre of Itako town. Ibaraki is basically agricultural, producing cereals, potatoes, and tobacco. Coal is mined at Ibaraki town and copper at Hitachi. Industry increased in the prefecture during the 1960s, while production in the TokyoYokohama Metropolitan Area declined. There are petrochemical works at Kashima and Kasumi, and electric machinery is built. The first Nuclear Energy Research Institute was founded in Tokaimura in 1956. Many of the cities were castle towns. Mito, the prefectural capital, was developed under the Mito branch of the Tokugawa Shogunate; its Kairaku Garden is one of the most celebrated in Japan. Pop. (1987 est.) 2,769,000.