is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,674 in 14,688 households and a population density of 350 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Sōsa is located in far northeastern Chiba Prefecture. It is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean on the southwest. The land is mostly flat, and much is from 40 to 50 meters above sea level in average elevation. The northern section, a mixture of valleys, ports and rice fields, consists of a plateau made up of complicated terrain and features. The southern half consists of flat terrain facing Kujūkuri Beach. Through the center of the city runs both the Japan Railways (JR) Sōbu Main Line and Japan National Route 126, which run east-west. To the west of the center of Sosa is Japan National Route 296, which runs north-south. Neighboring municipalities Chiba Prefecture Asahi Tako Katori Yokoshibahikari Climate Sōsa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sōsa is 15.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1557 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C. Demographics Census statistics History Sōsa was founded on January 23, 2006 as a result of the merger between the former city of Yōkaichiba, and the former town of Nosaka (from Sōsa District). A 8 December 1915 B 3 November 1948 C 31 March 1954 D 1 July 1954 E 17 July 1954 F 23 January 2006 Events 1 June 1897 – Yōkaichiba Station opened. 9 October 1946 – Service on Narita Railway Tako Line was discontinued. 1 April 1970 – Japan National Route 296 was opened. 23 January 2006 – Yōkaichiba City and Nosaka Town were merged to form Sōsa City. Government Sōsa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Sōsa contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 10th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy Sōsa is a regional commercial center whose economy is primarily agricultural. Sōsa is well known for growing trees that are sold all over Japan. Major retail