Takahagi, Ibaraki

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Takahagi is a city in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It covers about 193.6 square kilometers and had about 27,500 residents in 2020. The population density is around 140 people per square kilometer, and about 36% of residents are 65 or older.

Geography
Takahagi is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east and by Fukushima Prefecture to the northwest.

Climate
The city has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average temperature is about 13.9°C each year. It gets about 1,429 mm of rain annually, with September the wettest month. Average highs are about 24.9°C in August, and average lows are about 3.8°C in January.

History
In the Edo period, Takahagi was the castle town of Matsuoka Domain, ruled by the Nakamura clan. After the Meiji Restoration, municipalities were created in 1889. Matsubara became a town in 1928 and was renamed Takahagi in 1937. Takahagi merged with Matsubara, Takaoka, and Kurosaki in 1954 and became a city. The city suffered damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Government
Takahagi uses a mayor-council government with a directly elected mayor and a city council of 14 members. Together with Kitaibaraki, it sends two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. Nationally, it is part of Ibaraki's 5th district for the Diet.

Economy
The area used to rely on coal mining in the Jōban coal fields, but mines were exhausted by the 1960s. Since then, the economy has focused on light manufacturing and food processing, with agriculture and fishing playing smaller roles.

Education
There are four public elementary schools and three public middle schools in the city, plus two public high schools run by the prefecture and one private high school.