| Shika | |||
| Native Name Lang: | ja | ||
| Settlement Type: | Town | ||
| Pushpin Map: | Japan | ||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | |||
| Coordinates: | 37.0062°N 136.778°W | ||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||
| Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||
| Subdivision Name1: | Chūbu Hokuriku | ||
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture | ||
| Subdivision Name2: | Ishikawa | ||
| Subdivision Type3: | District | ||
| Subdivision Name3: | Hakui | ||
| Leader Title: | -Mayor | ||
| Leader Name: | Masaru Koizumi | ||
| Area Total Km2: | 246.76 | ||
| Population Total: | 20845 | ||
| Population As Of: | January 31, 2018 | ||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time | ||
| Utc Offset1: | +9 | ||
| Blank Name Sec1: | Phone number | ||
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0767-32-1111 | ||
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Address | ||
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 1-1 Sueyoshi Senko, Shika-machi, Hakui-gun, Ishikawa-ken 925-0198 | ||
| Blank Name Sec2: | Climate | ||
| Blank Info Sec2: | Cfa | ||
| Module: |
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is a town located in Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan., the town had an estimated population of 20,845 in 8090 households, and a population density of 84 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the town is 246.76sqkm.
Shika occupies the southwestern coastline of Noto Peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan on the west. It is one and a half hours from Kanazawa by car. Shika has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Shika is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2405 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.5 °C.[2]
Part of the town is within the limits of the Noto Hantō Quasi-National Park.
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Shika has declined over the past 50 years.
The area around Shika was part of ancient Noto Province. During the Sengoku Period (1467–1568), the area was contested between the Hatakeyama clan, Uesugi clan and Maeda clan, with the area becoming part of Kaga Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was organised into Hakui District, Ishikawa, and the village of Shika was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Shika was raised to town status on February 1, 1936. On September 1, 2005, the former town of Togi was annexed by Shika.
On January 9, 2015, a resident reported a wooden boat to the local police, which was washed up on the shore. Due to Hangul characters on the boat it was suspected to be from North Korea. The police arrested one man on the boat, who claimed he had left North Korea unintended in mid-December 2014 when conducting an inspection of the boat.[4] [5] On January 1, 2024, the region experienced intense shaking due to the 2024 Noto earthquake. The town experienced the highest possible intensity on the Shindo scale - 7, and a person was killed. It was also among the first to receive a major tsunami warning since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.
Once a centre for the garment manufacturing industry, the local economy is now dominated by the presence of the Shika Nuclear Power Plant operated by Hokuriku Electric Power Company. Commercial fishing and agriculture are also important to the local economy.
Shika has two public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education.