It is currently organized into the five former towns of Date, Hobara, Yanagawa, Ryozen, and Tsukidate, each of which retain numerous unique traditions and events.

The first humans to live within the bounds of present-day Date City are thought to have arrived during the Paleolithic Period.

Although outside the nuclear accident exclusion zone, the levels of radiation in the city caused residents, and especially children, to remain indoors.

[9] Date has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 22 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Taiyo Yuden operates a metal power inductor production plant in the Yanagawa Industrial Zone in Date, Fukushima, which also produced CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs in the past.

[11] As sericulture lost its place in the area during the Taisho period, the former village of Isazawa in Yanagawa replaced it with the production of dried persimmons, among other industries.

Whereas traditional dried persimmons, hoshigaki, have a tough skin and are almost black in color, those created with the additional step of sulfur fumigation, called anpogaki or tsurushigaki, are soft and bright orange.

Other specifics vary by year, but often include food stands from local vendors, various performances, and the Momo-Olympics where visitors can participate in various games to win prizes.

After the winning team is decided, the men work together to lift and drop the heavy bundle repeatedly.