Loading article…
Toyama Prefecture (富山県, Toyama-ken; Japanese pronunciation:[toꜜ.ja.ma,to.ja.maꜜ.keɴ][3]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu.[4] Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture to the south, Nagano Prefecture to the east, and Niigata Prefecture to the northeast.
Toyama is the capital and largest city of Toyama Prefecture, with other major cities including Takaoka, Imizu, and Nanto.[5] Toyama Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region, and the majority of the prefecture's population lives on Toyama Bay, one of the largest bays in Japan. Toyama Prefecture is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast and has the advantage of cheap electricity from abundant hydroelectric resources. Toyama Prefecture contains the only known glaciers in East Asia outside of Russia, first recognized in 2012, and 30% of the prefecture's area is designated as national parks.[6]
Historically, Toyama Prefecture was Etchū Province.[7] Following the abolition of the han system in 1871, Etchū Province was renamed Niikawa Prefecture, but Imizu District was given to Nanao Prefecture. In 1872 Imizu District was returned by the new Ishikawa Prefecture.
In 1876, Niikawa Prefecture was merged into Ishikawa Prefecture but the merger was void in 1881 and the area was re-established as Toyama Prefecture.
The Itai-itai disease occurred in Toyama around 1950.
Toyama Prefecture is bordered by Ishikawa Prefecture to the west, Niigata to the northeast, Nagano to the southeast, Gifu to the south and Sea of Japan to the north.
As of April 1, 2012, 30% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Chūbu-Sangaku and Hakusan National Parks; Noto Hantō Quasi-National Park; and six Prefectural Natural Parks.[8]
Due to the mergers in the 2000s, Toyama has the fewest municipalities of any prefecture in Japan with 10 cities, 2 districts, 4 towns, and 1 village (before the mergers took place, the prefecture had 9 cities, 18 towns, and 8 villages).
Ten cities are located in Toyama Prefecture.
These are the towns and villages in each district:
In 2014 Toyama contributed approximately 2.5% of Japan's rice production[9] and makes use of abundant water sources originating from Mount Tate. It also has many fisheries along its Sea of Japan coastline.
Toyama is famous for its historical pharmaceutical industry which remains a top manufacturing industry in the prefecture in terms of manufacturing shipment value followed by electronic parts and devices (industrial robots, general machinery, etc.), and metal products (aluminum, copper etc.) manufacturing.
Kurobe Dam generates electricity for the Kansai Electric Power Company. It is located on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture.
Per Japanese census data,[10] the population of Toyama has been relatively stable since 1950.
The sports teams listed below are based in Toyama.
Football
Basketball
Baseball
Rugby Union
Liaoning Province, since May 9, 1984
São Paulo State, since July 18, 1985
Oregon State, since October 19, 1991
Primorsky Region, since August 26, 1992
Basel-Stadt, since October 26, 2009[11]
Andhra Pradesh State, since December 29, 2015[12]
