e region somewhat from the level of food shortage and starvation immediately following the war. The immediate post-war period was characterized by carefully planned industrial expansion in the north of the prefecture and the significant increase of agricultural production after land reforms across the prefecture. The Keiy? Industrial Zone brought together smaller industrial areas along the entirety of the western coast of Chiba Prefecture, and the industrial zone became, and remains an important center of heavy industrial production and large-scale port facilities in Japan. Cities to the northeast of the prefecture in close proximity to Tokyo were connected by rail to the capitol, and became and remain bedroom communities to Tokyo. Narita International Airport was began operation in 1978 in Narita after much protest to replace the overcrowded Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport). The majority of international air traffic enters Japan via Chiba Prefecture. Agriculture, specifically of rice, and also vegetables to serve the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area expanded greatly and became a source of income to the northeast and central areas of the prefecture. Agriculture expansion of the central and southern regions of the prefecture was in contrast to the depopulation of these areas as a significant part of the population moved to the northeast of the prefecture as a result of the urbanization of Japan, a process that continues into the 21st century.
2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami affected areas as far south as Chiba Prefecture. While the loss of life and damage to housing and industrial was far less than in the T?hoku region, 20 people were killed in Chiba Prefecture, mostly from the tsunami that hit Asahi to the northeast of the prefecture and caused 13 deaths. An oil refinery fire, widely seen in the news media following the T?hoku earthquake, was at the Cosmo Oil Chiba Refinery in Ichihara. Large
