Administrative divisions
of Japan
Prefectural
Prefectures
Sub-prefectural
Municipal
Sub-municipal

The bureaucratic administration of Japan is divided into three basic levels: national, prefectural, and municipal. They are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947.

Below the national government there are 47 prefectures, six of which are further subdivided into subprefectures to better service large geographical areas or remote islands.

The 1718 municipalities (792 cities, 743 towns, and 183 villages)[1] and 23 special wards of Tokyo are the lowest level of government; the twenty most-populated cities outside Tokyo Metropolis are known as designated cities, and are subdivided into wards.

Prefectural divisions

47 prefectural entities of Japan

The top tier of administrative divisions are the 47 prefectural entities: 43 prefectures (県, ken) proper, two urban prefectures (府, fu, Osaka and Kyōto), one "circuit" (道, dō, Hokkaidō), and one "metropolis" (都, to, Tokyo Metropolis). Although different in name, they are functionally the same.

Ken

"Prefecture" (県, ken) are the most common types of prefectural divisions total of 43 ken. The kanji (character) from which this is derived means "county".

To

Tokyo Metropolis is referred to as a "metropolis" (都, to) after the dissolution of Tokyo City in 1943, Tōkyō-fu (Tokyo Prefecture) was upgraded into Tōkyō-to and the former Tokyo City's wards were upgraded into special wards. The kanji (character) from which this is derived means "capital".

Fu

Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture are referred to as an "urban prefecture" (府, fu). The Chinese character from which this is derived implies a core urban zone of national importance in middle period of China, or implies a sub division of a province in late period of China.

Dō

Hokkaido is referred to as a "circuit" (道, dō), this term was originally used to refer to Japanese regions consisting of several provinces. This was also a historical usage of the character in China meaning circuit.

Subprefectural divisions

There are only two types of subprefectural divisions: subprefecture and district.

Subprefecture

Subprefectures (支庁, shichō) are a Japanese form of self-government which focuses on local issues below the prefectural level. It acts as part of the greater administration of the state and as part of a self-government system.[2]

District

Districts (郡, gun) were administrative units in use between 1878 and 1921 that were roughly equivalent to the counties of China or the United States. In the 1920s, municipal functions were transferred from district offices to the offices of the towns and villages within the district. District names remain in the postal address of towns and villages, and districts are sometimes used as boundaries for electoral districts, but otherwise serve no official function. The Classical Chinese character from which this is derived means commandery.

Municipal divisions

1,742 municipal and 175 submunicipal entities of Japan

The municipal divisions are divided into three main categories city, town, and village. However the city entities are further categorized. The Special wards of Tokyo are also considered to be municipal divisions.

Cities

Cities in Japan are categorized into four different types, from the highest the designated city, the core city, the special city, and the regular city at the lowest.

Designated city

A city designated by government ordinance (政令指定都市, seirei shitei toshi), also known as a designated city (指定都市, shitei toshi) or government ordinance city (政令市, seirei shi), is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by an order of the cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19 of the Local Autonomy Law. Designated cities are also subdivided into wards.

Core city

A core city (中核市, Chūkakushi) is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 300,000 and an area greater than 100 square kilometers, although special exceptions may be made by order of the cabinet for cities with populations under 300,000 but over 200,000.[3] Core city was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 22 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.

Special city

A special city (特例市, Tokureishi) of Japan is a city with a population of at least 200,000. This category was established by the Local Autonomy Law, article 252 clause 26.

City

A city (市, shi) is a local administrative unit in Japan with a population of at least 50,000 of which at least 60% of households must be established in a central urban area, and at least 60% of households must be employed in commerce, industry or other urban occupations. Cities are ranked on the same level as towns (町, machi) and villages (村, mura); the only difference is that they are not a component of districts (郡, gun). Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947.

Town

A town (町, chō or machi) is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture (ken or other equivalents), city (shi), and village (mura). Geographically, a town is contained within a prefecture.

Village

A village (村, mura, sometimes son) is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture (県, ken, or other equivalents), city (市, shi), and town (町, chō, sometimes machi). Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a prefecture. It is larger than an actual settlement, being in actuality a subdivision of a rural district (郡, gun), which are subdivided into towns and villages with no overlap and no uncovered area.

Special Ward

The special wards (特別区, tokubetsu-ku) are 23 municipalities that together make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Together, they occupy the land that was originally the Tokyo City before it was abolished in 1943 to become part of the newly created Tokyo Metropolis. The special wards' structure was established under the Japanese Local Autonomy Law and is unique to Tokyo Metropolis.

Submunicipal divisions

Ward

A ward (区, ku) is a subdivision of the cities of Japan that are large enough to have been designated by government ordinance.[4]

History

Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current two-tiered system since the abolition of the han system by the Meiji government in 1871 are similar. Before the abolition of the han system, Japan was divided into provinces (国, kuni) then subdivided into districts (郡, gun) and then villages (里/郷, sato) at the bottom.

Structural hierarchy

Prefectural Subprefectural Municipal Submunicipal
Prefectures
(excluding Tokyo Metropolis)		 Subprefecture "designated city" Ward
 
District Town
Village		 none
Subprefecture District
  "core city"
"special city"
City
 
Metropolis City
Special wards
District
Subprefecture		 Town
Village
LevelTypeKanjiRomajiNo.
Prefectural Tokyo Metropolis 都 to 1 Tokyo (東京都 Tōkyō-to)
"circuit" 道 dō 1 Hokkaido (北海道 Hokkaidō)
"urban prefecture" 府 fu 2 Kyoto Prefecture (京都府 Kyōto-fu) and Osaka Prefecture (大阪府 Ōsaka-fu)
Prefecture 県 ken 43 Prefectures except Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kyoto Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture
 Subprefectural Subprefecture 支庁 shichō 158
District 郡 gun 374
Municipal "designated city" 政令指定都市 seirei shitei toshi 20
"core city" 中核市 chūkaku-shi 42
"special city" 特例市 tokurei-shi 40
City 市 shi 792 Including designated, core and special cities.
Town 町 chō or machi 743
Village 村 mura or son 183
Special ward 区 (特別区) ku (tokubetsu-ku) 23 Special wards of Tokyo (東京都区部 Tōkyō-to kubu), 23 wards of Tokyo (東京23区 Tōkyō nijūsan-ku)
 Submunicipal Ward 区 (行政区) ku (gyōsei-ku) 175 Only used for designated cities
ISO Prefecture Kanji Region Cities [all-types]
(Special wards)		 Wards Districts Towns Villages
JP-23 Aichi愛知県Chūbu38167142
JP-05 Akita秋田県Tōhoku13693
JP-02 Aomori青森県Tōhoku108228
JP-12 Chiba千葉県Kantō3766161
JP-38 Ehime愛媛県Shikoku1179
JP-18 Fukui福井県Chūbu9717
JP-40 Fukuoka福岡県Kyushu281412302
JP-07 Fukushima福島県Tōhoku13133115
JP-21 Gifu岐阜県Chūbu219192
JP-10 Gunma群馬県Kantō127158
JP-34 Hiroshima広島県Chūgoku14859
JP-01 Hokkaidō北海道Hokkaido35106612915[1]
JP-28 Hyōgo兵庫県Kansai299812
JP-08 Ibaraki茨城県Kantō327102
JP-17 Ishikawa石川県Chūbu1158
JP-03 Iwate岩手県Tōhoku1410154
JP-37 Kagawa香川県Shikoku859
JP-46 Kagoshima鹿児島県Kyushu198204
JP-14 Kanagawa神奈川県Kantō19286131
JP-39 Kōchi高知県Shikoku116176
JP-43 Kumamoto熊本県Kyushu1459238
JP-26 Kyōto京都府Kansai15116101
JP-24 Mie三重県Kansai14715
JP-04 Miyagi宮城県Tōhoku13510211
JP-45 Miyazaki宮崎県Kyushu96143
JP-20 Nagano長野県Chūbu19142335
JP-42 Nagasaki長崎県Kyushu1348
JP-29 Nara奈良県Kansai1271512
JP-15 Niigata新潟県Chūbu208964
JP-44 Ōita大分県Kyushu14331
JP-33 Okayama岡山県Chūgoku15410102
JP-47 Okinawa沖縄県Kyushu1151119
JP-27 Ōsaka大阪府Kansai3331591
JP-41 Saga佐賀県Kyushu10610
JP-11 Saitama埼玉県Kantō40108221
JP-25 Shiga滋賀県Kansai1336
JP-32 Shimane島根県Chūgoku85101
JP-22 Shizuoka静岡県Chūbu2310512
JP-09 Tochigi栃木県Kantō14512
JP-36 Tokushima徳島県Shikoku88151
JP-13 Tōkyō東京都Kantō26 (23)158
JP-31 Tottori鳥取県Chūgoku45141
JP-16 Toyama富山県Chūbu10241
JP-30 Wakayama和歌山県Kansai96201
JP-06 Yamagata山形県Tōhoku138193
JP-35 Yamaguchi山口県Chūgoku1346
JP-19 Yamanashi山梨県Chūbu13586
Total 792 (23) 175 307 743 183

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Not inducing the six villages in the Kuril Islands dispute area.
  2. ↑ Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903). Japan in the beginning of the 20th century, p. 80.
  3. ↑ "日本財団図書館（電子図書館）Revised Local Autonomy Law". nippon.zaidan.info.
  4. ↑ "Statistical Handbook of Japan 2008" by Statistics Bureau, Japan Archived 7 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Chapter 17: Government System (Retrieved on 4 July 2009)
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