Abiko, Chiba  As of April 2012, the city has an estimated population of 132,999, and a population density of 3080 persons per km2. The total area is 43.19 km2. Abiko is located in the far northwestern corner of Chiba Prefecture, bordered by the Tone River to the north. The area around Abiko has been inhabited since Japanese Paleolithic times, and archaeologists have found stone tools dated from 30,000 years ago. During the Edo period, Abiko was a river port on the Tone River and a post station on the "Mito Kaidō", a highway connecting Edo with Mito. After the Meiji Restoration, Abiko Town was created in Minamisoma District, Chiba Prefecture on April 1, 1889, along with the town of Fusa and village of Kohoku. Abiko was transferred to Higashikatsushika District in 1897. On November 1, 1954, it annexed neighboring Tomise village from the same district. On April 29, 1955, Abiko annexed Fusa Town and Kohoku Village. Abiko achieved city status on July 1, 1970. In 2003, a proposal to merge Abiko with neighboring city of Kashiwa and the town of Shōnan was defeated by a public referendum. Parts of the city were damaged by soil liquefaction due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Abiko is a regional commercial center and a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo.