Imabetsu is in Higashitsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and occupies the northern coastline of Tsugaru Peninsula, facing Tsugaru Strait. It is surrounded by Mount Yotsutaki and Mount Maruyagata to the east and west, and faces Mimaya Bay to the north. The area of the town is the basin of the Imabetsu River, which mainly flows into Mimaya Bay, and the basins of the Nagakawa and Kurosaki Rivers. Much of the town is within the limits of the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park.
The town has a cold humid continental climate (KöppenCfb) characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Imabetsu is 10.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1249 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.4 °C.[3]
Climate data for Imabetsu (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present)
Per Japanese census data,[6] the population of Imabetsu has decreased by more than two-thirds over the past 60 years and is now much less than it was a century ago.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1920
5,188
—
1930
5,385
+3.8%
1940
6,121
+13.7%
1950
7,710
+26.0%
1960
8,068
+4.6%
1970
7,358
−8.8%
1980
7,113
−3.3%
1990
4,978
−30.0%
2000
4,124
−17.2%
2010
3,217
−22.0%
2020
2,334
−27.4%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
History
The area around Imabetsu was controlled by the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain during the Edo period. After the Meiji RestorationMinmaya, Kanita and Tairadate villages were separated from Imabetsu, which was also organized as a village on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. On March 31, 1955, Imabetsu annexed the neighboring village of Ippongi and was elevated to town status.
Imabetsu has one public elementary school and one public junior high middle school operated by the town government. The public high school operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education closed in April 2022.
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