19/11/23, 10:42 Prefectures of Japan - Wikipedia

Prefectures of Japan
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures ( 都 道 府 県 , todōfuken,
[todoːɸɯ̥ ꜜkeɴ] ⓘ Prefecture
), which rank immediately below the national
government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and 都道府県
県
administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper ( , ken), Todōfuken
two urban prefectures ( 府
, fu: Osaka and Kyoto), one regional
道 都
prefecture ( , dō: Hokkaidō) and one metropolis ( , to: Tokyo). In
1868, the Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration created the first
prefectures (urban fu and rural ken) to replace the urban and rural
administrators (bugyō, daikan, etc.) in the parts of the country
previously controlled directly by the shogunate and a few territories of
rebels/shogunate loyalists who had not submitted to the new
government such as Aizu/Wakamatsu. In 1871, all remaining feudal
domains (han) were also transformed into prefectures, so that
prefectures subdivided the whole country. In several waves of
territorial consolidation, today's 47 prefectures were formed by the
turn of the century. In many instances, these are contiguous with the
ancient ritsuryō provinces of Japan.[1]

Each prefecture's chief executive is a directly elected governor ( , 知事

chiji). Ordinances and budgets are enacted by a unicameral assembly
(議会 , gikai) whose members are elected for four-year terms.

Under a set of 1888–1890 laws on local government[2] until the 1920s,

each prefecture (then only 3 -fu and 42 -ken; Hokkaidō and Okinawa-
ken were subject to different laws until the 20th century) was
市 郡
subdivided into cities ( , shi) and districts ( , gun) and each district
町 村
into towns ( , chō/machi) and villages ( , son/mura). Hokkaidō has
14 subprefectures that act as General Subprefectural Bureaus ( 総合振
興局 , sōgō-shinkō-kyoku, "Comprehensive Promotion Bureau") and
Category First level administrative division of

Subprefectural Bureaus ( 振興局

, shinkō-kyoku, "Promotion Bureau")
Location
a unitary state
Japan
of the prefecture. Some other prefectures also have branch offices that
carry out prefectural administrative functions outside the capital. Number 47 Prefectures
Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is a merged city-prefecture; a metropolis, Populations 605,000 (Tottori) – 14,135,000
it has features of both cities and prefectures. (Tōkyō)
Areas 1,861.7 km2 (718.8 sq mi) (Kagawa)
Background – 83,453.6 km2 (32,221.6 sq mi)
(Hokkaido)
The West's use of "prefecture" to label these Japanese regions stems Government Prefecture Government, Central
from 16th-century Portuguese explorers and traders use of Government
"prefeitura" to describe the fiefdoms they encountered there. Its Subdivisions contiguous: municipalities
original sense in Portuguese, however, was closer to "municipality"
県
than "province". Today, in turn, Japan uses its word ken ( ), meaning
partial: Subprefectures
historical: districts
"prefecture", to identify Portuguese districts while in Brazil the word
"Prefeitura" is used to refer to a city hall.

Those fiefs were headed by a local warlord or family. Though the fiefs have long since been dismantled, merged, and
reorganized multiple times, and been granted legislative governance and oversight, the rough translation stuck.

The Meiji government established the current system in July 1871 with the abolition of the han system and establishment
of the prefecture system ( 廃藩置県
, haihan-chiken). Although there were initially over 300 prefectures, many of them
being former han territories, this number was reduced to 72 in the latter part of 1871, and 47 in 1888. The Local
Autonomy Law of 1947 gave more political power to prefectures, and installed prefectural governors and parliaments.

In 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi proposed that the government consolidate the current prefectures into about
10 regional states (so-called dōshūsei). The plan called for each region to have greater autonomy than existing
prefectures. This process would reduce the number of subprefecture administrative regions and cut administrative
costs.[3] The Japanese government also considered a plan to merge several groups of prefectures, creating a subnational
administrative division system consisting of between nine and 13 states, and giving these states more local autonomy
than the prefectures currently enjoy.[4] As of August 2012, this plan was abandoned.

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Powers
Japan is a unitary state. The central government delegates many functions (such as education and the police force) to the
prefectures and municipalities, but retains the overall right to control them. Although local government expenditure
accounts for 70 percent of overall government expenditure, the central government controls local budgets, tax rates, and
borrowing.[5]

Prefectural government functions include the organization of the prefectural police force, the supervision of schools and
the maintenance of prefectural schools (mainly high schools), prefectural hospitals, prefectural roads, the supervision of
prefectural waterways and regional urban planning. Their responsibilities include tasks delegated to them by the national
government such as maintaining most ordinary national roads (except in designated major cities), and prefectures
coordinate and support their municipalities in their functions. De facto, prefectures as well as municipalities have often
been less autonomous than the formal extent of the local autonomy law suggests, because of

most of them depend heavily on central government funding – a dependency recently further exacerbated in many
regions by the demographic transition which hits rural areas harder/earlier as cities can offset it partly through
migration from the countryside, and
in many policy areas, the basic framework is set tightly by national laws, and prefectures and municipalities are only
autonomous within that framework.

Types of prefecture
Historically, during the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate established bugyō-ruled zones ( 奉行支配地 ) around the
nine largest cities in Japan, and 302 township-ruled zones ( 郡代支配地 ) elsewhere. When the Meiji government began to
府
create the prefectural system in 1868, the nine bugyō-ruled zones became fu ( ), while the township-ruled zones and the
県
rest of the bugyo-ruled zones became ken ( ). Later, in 1871, the government designated Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto as fu,
and relegated the other fu to the status of ken. During World War II, in 1943, Tokyo became a to, a new type of pseudo-
prefecture.

Despite the differences in terminology, there is little functional difference between the four types of local governments.
The subnational governments are sometimes collectively referred to as todōfuken ( 都道府県 , [todoːɸɯ̥ ꜜkeɴ]) in
Japanese, which is a combination of the four terms.

To

都
Tokyo, capital city of Japan is referred to as to ( , [toꜜ]), which is often translated as "metropolis". The Japanese
government translates Tōkyō-to ( 東京都
, [toːkʲoꜜːto]) as "Tokyo Metropolis" in almost all cases, and the government is
officially called the "Tokyo Metropolitan Government".

Following the capitulation of shogunate Edo in 1868, Tōkyō-fu (an urban prefecture like Kyoto and Osaka) was set up
and encompassed the former city area of Edo under the Fuhanken sanchisei. After the abolition of the han system in the
first wave of prefectural mergers in 1871/72, several surrounding areas (parts of Urawa, Kosuge, Shinagawa and Hikone
prefectures) were merged into Tokyo, and under the system of (numbered) "large districts and small districts" (daiku-
shōku), it was subdivided into eleven large districts further subdivided into 103 small districts, six of the large districts
(97 small districts) covered the former city area of Edo.[6] When the ancient ritsuryō districts were reactivated as
administrative units in 1878, Tokyo was subdivided into 15 [urban] districts (-ku) and initially six [rural] districts (-gun;
nine after the Tama transfer from Kanagawa in 1893, eight after the merger of East Tama and South Toshima into
Toyotama in 1896). Both urban and rural districts, like everywhere in the country, were further subdivided into urban
units/towns/neighbourhoods (-chō/-machi) and rural units/villages (-mura/-son). The yet unincorporated communities
on the Izu (previously part of Shizuoka) and Ogasawara (previously directly Home Ministry-administrated) island groups
became also part of Tokyo in the 19th century. When the modern municipalities – [district-independent] cities and
[rural] districts containing towns and villages – were introduced under the Yamagata-Mosse laws on local government
and the simultaneous Great Meiji merger was performed in 1889, the 15 -ku became wards of Tokyo City, initially
Tokyo's only independent city (-shi), the six rural districts of Tokyo were consolidated in 85 towns and villages.[7] In
1893, the three Tama districts and their 91 towns and villages became part of Tokyo. As Tokyo city's suburbs grew rapidly
in the early 20th century, many towns and villages in Tokyo were merged or promoted over the years. In 1932, five
complete districts with their 82 towns and villages were merged into Tokyo City and organised in 20 new wards. Also, by
1940, there were two more cities in Tokyo: Hachiōji City and Tachikawa City.

In 1943, Tokyo City was abolished, Tōkyō-fu became Tōkyō-to, and Tokyo-shi's 35 wards remained Tokyo-to's 35 wards,
but submunicipal authorities of Tokyo-shi's wards which previously fell directly under the municipality, with the
municipality now abolished, fell directly under prefectural or now "Metropolitan" authority. All other cities, towns and
villages in Tokyo-fu stayed cities, towns and villages in Tokyo-to. The reorganisation's aim was to consolidate the
administration of the area around the capital by eliminating the extra level of authority in Tokyo. Also, the governor was

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no longer called chiji, but chōkan (~"head/chief [usually: of a central government agency]") as in Hokkaidō). The central
government wanted to have greater control over all local governments due to Japan's deteriorating position in World
War II – for example, all mayors in the country became appointive as in the Meiji era – and over Tokyo in particular, due
to the possibility of emergency in the metropolis.

After the war, Japan was forced to decentralise Tokyo again, following the general terms of democratisation outlined in
the Potsdam Declaration. Many of Tokyo's special governmental characteristics disappeared during this time, and the
wards took on an increasingly municipal status in the decades following the surrender. Administratively, today's special
wards are almost indistinguishable from other municipalities.

The postwar reforms also changed the map of Tokyo significantly: In 1947, the 35 wards were reorganised into the 23
special wards, because many of its citizens had either died during the war, left the city, or been drafted and did not
return. In the occupation reforms, special wards, each with their own elected assemblies (kugikai) and mayors (kuchō),
were intended to be equal to other municipalities even if some restrictions still applied. (For example, there was during
the occupation a dedicated municipal police agency for the 23 special wards/former Tokyo City, yet the special wards
public safety commission was not named by the special ward governments, but by the government of the whole
"Metropolis". In 1954, independent municipal police forces were abolished generally in the whole country, and the
prefectural/"Metropolitan" police of Tokyo is again responsible for the whole prefecture/"Metropolis" and like all
prefectural police forces controlled by the prefectural/"Metropolitan" public safety commission whose members are
appointed by the prefectural/"Metropolitan" governor and assembly.) But, as part of the "reverse course" of the 1950s
some of these new rights were removed, the most obvious measure being the denial of directly elected mayors. Some of
these restrictions were removed again over the decades. But it was not until the year 2000 that the special wards were
fully recognised as municipal-level entities.

Independently from these steps, as Tokyo's urban growth again took up pace during the postwar economic miracle and
most of the main island part of Tokyo "Metropolis" became increasingly core part of the Tokyo metropolitan area, many
of the other municipalities in Tokyo have transferred some of their authority to the Metropolitan government. For
example, the Tokyo Fire Department which was only responsible for the 23 special wards until 1960 has until today taken
over the municipal fire departments in almost all of Tokyo. A joint governmental structure for the whole Tokyo
metropolitan area (and not only the western suburbs of the special wards which are part of the Tokyo
prefecture/Metropolis") as advocated by some politicians such as former Kanagawa governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa[8]
has not been established (see also Dōshūsei). Existing cross-prefectural fora of cooperation between local governments in
the Tokyo metropolitan area are the Kantō regional governors' association (Kantō chihō chijikai)[9][10] and the
"Shutoken summit" (formally "conference of chief executives of nine prefectures and cities", 9 to-ken-shi shunō kaigi).[11]
But, these are not themselves local public entities under the local autonomy law and national or local government
functions cannot be directly transferred to them, unlike the "Union of Kansai governments" (Kansai kōiki-rengō)[12]
which has been established by several prefectural governments in the Kansai region.

There are some differences in terminology between Tokyo and other prefectures: police and fire departments are called
庁
chō ( ) instead of honbu ( 本部
), for instance. But the only functional difference between Tōkyō-to and other prefectures
is that Tokyo administers wards as well as cities. Today, since the special wards have almost the same degree of
independence as Japanese cities, the difference in administration between Tokyo and other prefectures is fairly minor.

In Osaka, several prominent politicians led by Tōru Hashimoto, then mayor of Osaka City and former governor of Osaka
Prefecture, proposed an Osaka Metropolis plan, under which Osaka City, and possibly other neighboring cities, would be
replaced by special wards similar to Tokyo's. The plan was narrowly defeated in a 2015 referendum, and again in
2020.[13]

Dō

道
Hokkaidō is referred to as a dō ( , [doꜜː]) or circuit. This term was originally used to refer to Japanese regions consisting
of several provinces (e.g. the Tōkaidō east-coast region, and Saikaido west-coast region). This was also a historical usage
of the character in China. (In Korea, this historical usage is still used today and was kept during the period of Japanese
rule.)

Hokkai-dō ( 北海道, [hokkaꜜidoː]), the only remaining dō today, was not one of the original seven dō (it was known as Ezo
in the pre-modern era). Its current name is believed to originate from Matsuura Takeshiro, an early Japanese explorer of
the island. Since Hokkaidō did not fit into the existing dō classifications, a new dō was created to cover it.

The Meiji government originally classified Hokkaidō as a "Settlement Envoyship" ( 開拓使

, kaitakushi), and later divided
the island into three prefectures (Sapporo, Hakodate, and Nemuro). These were consolidated into a single Hokkaido
Department ( 北海道庁 , Hokkaido-chō) in 1886, at prefectural level but organized more along the lines of a territory. In
1947, the department was dissolved, and Hokkaidō became a full-fledged prefecture. The -ken suffix was never added to
its name, so the -dō suffix came to be understood to mean "prefecture".

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When Hokkaidō was incorporated, transportation on the island was still underdeveloped, so the prefecture was split into
several "subprefectures" ( 支庁
, shichō) that could fulfill administrative duties of the prefectural government and keep
tight control over the developing island. These subprefectures still exist today, although they have much less power than
they possessed before and during World War II. They now exist primarily to handle paperwork and other bureaucratic
functions.

"Hokkaidō Prefecture" is, technically speaking, a redundant term because dō itself indicates a prefecture, although it is
occasionally used to differentiate the government from the island itself. The prefecture's government calls itself the
"Hokkaidō Government" rather than the "Hokkaidō Prefectural Government".

Fu

府
Osaka and Kyoto Prefectures are referred to as fu ( , pronounced [ɸɯꜜ] when a separate word but [ꜜɸɯ] when part of
the full name of a prefecture, e.g. [kʲoꜜːto] and [ɸɯꜜ] become [kʲoːtoꜜɸɯ]). The Classical Chinese character from which
this is derived implies a core urban zone of national importance. Before World War II, different laws applied to fu and
ken, but this distinction was abolished after the war, and the two types of prefecture are now functionally the same.

Ken

県
43 of the 47 prefectures are referred to as ken ( , pronounced [keꜜɴ] when a separate word but [ꜜkeɴ] when part of the
full name of a prefecture, e.g. [aꜜitɕi] and [keꜜɴ] become [aitɕi̥ꜜkeɴ]). The Classical Chinese character from which this is
derived carries a rural or provincial connotation, and an analogous character is used to refer to the counties of China,
counties of Taiwan and districts of Vietnam.

Lists of prefectures
The different systems of parsing frame the ways in which Japanese prefectures are perceived:

By Japanese ISO

The prefectures are also often grouped into eight regions (地方, chihō). Those regions are not formally specified, they do
not have elected officials, nor are they corporate bodies. But the practice of ordering prefectures based on their
geographic region is traditional.[1] This ordering is mirrored in Japan's International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) coding.[14] From north to south (numbering in ISO 3166-2:JP order), the prefectures of Japan and their commonly
associated regions are:

Hokkaidō
1. Hokkaidō
Tōhoku
2. Aomori
3. Iwate
4. Miyagi
5. Akita
6. Yamagata
7. Fukushima
Kantō
8. Ibaraki
9. Tochigi
10. Gunma
11. Saitama
12. Chiba
13. Tōkyō
14. Kanagawa

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Chūbu
15. Niigata
16. Toyama
17. Ishikawa
18. Fukui
19. Yamanashi
20. Nagano
21. Gifu
22. Shizuoka
23. Aichi
Kansai
24. Mie
25. Shiga
26. Kyōto
27. Ōsaka
28. Hyōgo
29. Nara
30. Wakayama
Chūgoku
31. Tottori
32. Shimane
33. Okayama
34. Hiroshima
35. Yamaguchi
Shikoku
36. Tokushima
37. Kagawa
38. Ehime
39. Kōchi
Kyūshū
40. Fukuoka
41. Saga
42. Nagasaki
43. Kumamoto
44. Ōita Prefectures of Japan with coloured regions
45. Miyazaki
46. Kagoshima
47. Okinawa

By English name

The default alphabetic order in this sortable table can be altered to mirror the traditional Japanese regions and ISO
parsing.

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Municipalities
Population Area Density
Major Area
Prefecture Capital Region (April 1, (km2) (per Distr. ISO
Island code
2023) [15] km2)

愛 名
知 古
Aichi
県
Nagoya
屋 Chūbu Honshū 7,475,630 5,173.07 1,458 7 54 JP-23 052

市
秋 秋
Akita 田 Akita 田 Tōhoku Honshū 918,811 11,637.52 82.4 6 25 JP-05 018
県 市
青 青
Aomori 森 Aomori 森 Tōhoku Honshū 1,190,685 9,645.64 128.3 8 40 JP-02 017
県 市
千 千
Chiba 葉 Chiba 葉 Kantō Honshū 6,269,572 5,157.57 1,218.50 6 54 JP-12 043
県 市
愛 松
Ehime 媛 Matsuyama 山 Shikoku Shikoku 1,296,061 5,676.19 235.2 7 20 JP-38 089
県 市
福 福
Fukui 井 Fukui 井 Chūbu Honshū 746,733 4,190.52 183 7 17 JP-18 077
県 市
福 福
岡 Fukuoka 岡 Kyūshū Kyūshū 5,101,340 4,986.51 1,029.80 12 60 JP-40 092
Fukuoka
県 市
福 福
島 Fukushima 島 Tōhoku Honshū 1,773,723 13,784.14 133 13 59 JP-07 024
Fukushima
県 市
岐 岐
Gifu 阜 Gifu 阜 Chūbu Honshū 1,933,019 10,621.29 186.3 9 42 JP-21 058
県 市
群 前
Gunma 馬 Maebashi 橋 Kantō Honshū 1,902,834 6,362.28 304.8 7 35 JP-10 027
県 市
広 広
島 Hiroshima 島 Chūgoku Honshū 2,745,295 8,479.65 330.2 5 23 JP-34 082
Hiroshima
県 市
北 札
海 Sapporo 幌 Hokkaidō Hokkaidō 5,114,809 83,424.44 66.6 66 180 JP-01
011–

道 市
Hokkaido 016

兵 神
Hyōgo 庫 Kōbe 戸 Kansai Honshū 5,378,405 8,401.02 650.5 8 41 JP-28 073
県 市
茨 水
Ibaraki 城 Mito 戸 Kantō Honshū 2,828,848 6,097.39 470.2 7 44 JP-08 029
県 市
石 金
川 Kanazawa 沢 Chūbu Honshū 1,111,483 4,186.21 270.5 5 19 JP-17 076
Ishikawa
県 市

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Municipalities
Population Area Density
Major Area
Prefecture Capital Region (April 1, (km2) (per Distr. ISO
Island code
2023) [15] km2)

岩 盛
Iwate 手 Morioka 岡 Tōhoku Honshū 1,168,771 15,275.01 79.2 10 33 JP-03 019
県 市
香 高
川 Takamatsu 松 Shikoku Shikoku 926,866 1,876.78 506.3 5 17 JP-37 087
Kagawa
県 市
鹿 鹿
児 児
Kagoshima 島 Kagoshima
島 Kyūshū Kyūshū 1,553,060 9,187.06 172.9 8 43 JP-46 099

県 市
神 横
奈 浜
Kanagawa 川 Yokohama
市
Kantō Honshū 9,222,108 2,416.11 3,823.20 6 33 JP-14 045

県
高 高
Kōchi 知 Kōchi 知 Shikoku Shikoku 669,516 7,103.63 97.3 6 34 JP-39 088
県 市
熊 熊
本 Kumamoto 本 Kyūshū Kyūshū 1,708,761 7,409.46 234.6 9 45 JP-43 096
Kumamoto
県 市
京 京
Kyōto 都 Kyōto 都 Kansai Honshū 2,537,860 4,612.20 559 6 26 JP-26 075
府 市
三 津
Mie 重 Tsu
市 Kansai Honshū 1,731,863 5,774.49 306.6 7 29 JP-24 059
県
宮 仙
Miyagi 城 Sendai 台 Tōhoku Honshū 2,264,921 7,282.29 316.1 10 35 JP-04 022
県 市
宮 宮
崎 Miyazaki 崎 Kyūshū Kyūshū 1,043,524 7,735.22 138.3 6 26 JP-45 098
Miyazaki
県 市
長 長
野 Nagano 野 Chūbu Honshū 2,007,647 13,561.56 151 14 77 JP-20 026
Nagano
県 市
長 長
崎 Nagasaki 崎 Kyūshū Kyūshū 1,270,358 4,130.98 317.7 4 21 JP-42 095
Nagasaki
県 市
奈 奈
Nara 良 Nara 良 Kansai Honshū 1,298,946 3,690.94 358.8 7 39 JP-29 074
県 市
新 新
Niigata 潟 Niigata 潟 Chūbu Honshū 2,135,036 12,583.96 174.9 9 30 JP-15 025
県 市
大 大
Ōita 分 Ōita 分 Kyūshū Kyūshū 1,098,383 6,340.76 177.2 3 18 JP-44 097
県 市
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Municipalities
Population Area Density
Major Area
Prefecture Capital Region (April 1, (km2) (per Distr. ISO
Island code
2023) [15] km2)

岡 岡
山 Okayama 山 Chūgoku Honshū 1,850,210 7,114.33 265.4 10 27 JP-33 086
Okayama
県 市
沖 那
縄 Naha 覇 Kyūshū
Ryūkyū
1,462,871 2,282.59 642.9 5 41 JP-47 098
県 市
Okinawa Islands

大 大
Ōsaka 阪 Ōsaka 阪 Kansai Honshū 8,770,650 1,905.32 4,638.40 5 43 JP-27 06x
府 市
佐 佐
Saga 賀 Saga 賀 Kyūshū Kyūshū 795,157 2,440.69 332.5 6 20 JP-41 095
県 市
さ
埼 い
玉 Saitama た Kantō Honshū 7,328,073 3,797.75 1,934 8 63 JP-11 048
Saitama
県 ま
市
滋 大
Shiga 賀 Ōtsu 津 Kansai Honshū 1,405,299 4,017.38 351.9 3 19 JP-25 077
県 市
島 松
根 Matsue 江 Chūgoku Honshū 650,900 6,707.89 100.1 5 19 JP-32 085
Shimane
県 市
静 静
岡 Shizuoka 岡 Chūbu Honshū 3,561,252 7,777.35 467.2 5 35 JP-22 054
Shizuoka
県 市
栃 宇
木 都
Tochigi
県
Utsunomiya
宮 Kantō Honshū 1,898,513 6,408.09 301.7 5 26 JP-09 028

市
徳 徳
島 Tokushima 島 Shikoku Shikoku 697,733 4,146.75 173.5 8 24 JP-36 088
Tokushima
県 市
東 東
Tōkyō 京 Tōkyō[16] 京 Kantō Honshū 14,063,564 2,194.03 6,402.60 1 39 JP-13 03x/042
都 都
鳥 鳥
Tottori 取 Tottori 取 Chūgoku Honshū 539,190 3,507.14 157.8 5 19 JP-31 085
県 市
富 富
山 Toyama 山 Chūbu Honshū 1,009,050 4,247.58 243.6 2 15 JP-16 076
Toyama
県 市
和 和
歌 歌
Wakayama 山 Wakayama
山 Kansai Honshū 895,931 4,724.65 195.3 6 30 JP-30 075

県 市

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Municipalities
Population Area Density
Major Area
Prefecture Capital Region (April 1, (km2) (per Distr. ISO
Island code
2023) [15] km2)

山 山
形 Yamagata 形 Tōhoku Honshū 1,031,642 9,323.15 114.6 8 35 JP-06 023
Yamagata
県 市
山 山
口 Yamaguchi 口 Chūgoku Honshū 1,301,480 6,112.54 219.6 4 19 JP-35 083
Yamaguchi
県 市
山 甲
梨 Kōfu 府 Chūbu Honshū 796,231 4,465.27 181.4 5 27 JP-19 055
Yamanashi
県 市

Former prefectures

1870s

1880s

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Year of
Prefecture Japanese Fate
Abolition

Kanazawa 金沢県 1869 Renamed as Ishikawa

Sendai 仙台県 1871 Renamed as Miyagi

Morioka 盛岡県 1872 Renamed as Iwate

Nagoya 名古屋県 1872 Renamed as Aichi

Nukata 額田県 1872 Merged into Aichi

Nanao 七尾県 1872 Merged into Ishikawa and Shinkawa

Iruma 入間県 1873 Merged into Kumagaya and Kanagawa

Inba 印旛県 1873 Merged into Chiba

Kisarazu 木更津県 1873 Merged into Chiba

Utsunomiya 宇都宮県 1873 Merged into Tochigi

Asuwa 足羽県 1873 Merged into Tsuruga

Kashiwazaki 柏崎県 1873 Merged into Niigata

Ichinoseki→Mizusawa→Iwai 一関県→水沢県→磐井県 1875 Merged into Iwate and Miyagi

Okitama 置賜県 1875 Merged into Yamagata

Niihari 新治県 1875 Merged into Ibaraki and Chiba

Sakata→Tsuruoka 酒田県→鶴岡県 1876 Merged into Yamagata

Taira→Iwasaki 平県→磐前県 1876 Merged into Fukushima and Miyagi

Wakamatsu 若松県 1876 Merged into Fukushima

Chikuma 筑摩県 1876 Merged into Nagano and Gifu

Tsuruga 敦賀県 1876 Merged into Ishikawa and Shiga

Niikawa 新川県 1876 Merged into Ishikawa

Sakai 堺県 1881 Merged into Osaka

Ashigara 足柄県 1876 Merged into Kanagawa and Shizuoka

Kumagaya 熊谷県 1876 Merged into Gunma and Saitama

Aikawa 相川県 1876 Merged into Niigata

Hamamatsu 浜松県 1876 Merged into Shizuoka

Hakodate 函館県 1886 Merged into Hokkaidō

Sapporo 札幌県 1886 Merged into Hokkaidō

Nemuro 根室県 1886 Merged into Hokkaidō

Tokyo 東京府 1943 Reorganized as Tokyo Metropolis (東京都)

Lost after World War II

Here are some territories that were lost after World War II. This does not include all the territories of the Empire of
Japan such as Manchukuo.

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Prefecture Allied Current status[17]

Territory
occupation
Name Japanese Capital Country Name Capital

Okinawa 沖縄県 Naha

United
States[18]
Japan Okinawa Naha
Mainland
Karafuto 樺太庁 Toyohara Russia part of Sakhalin
Yuzhno-
Sakhalinsk
Heian-
hoku
平安北道 Shingishū North Pyongan Sinuiju

Heian-
nan
平安南道 Heijō South Pyongan Pyongyang
Soviet
Kankyō-
hoku
咸鏡北道 Seishin Union
North Korea
North Hamgyong Chongjin

Kankyō-
nan
咸鏡南道 Kankō South Hamgyong Hamhung

Kōkai 黃海道 Kaishū Hwanghae Haeju

Kōgen[19] 江原道 Shunsen

Kangwon
Gangwon
Chuncheon[20]

Korea Chūsei-
hoku
忠清北道 Seishū North Chungcheong Cheongju

Chūsei-
nan
忠清南道 Taiden South Chungcheong Daejeon

Keiki 京畿道 Keijō Gyeonggi Seoul

United
Keishō-
hoku
慶尚北道 Taikyū States
South Korea
North Gyeongsang Daegu

Keishō-
nan
慶尚南道 Fuzan South Gyeongsang Busan

Zenra-
hoku
全羅北道 Zenshū North Jeolla Jeonju

Zenra-
nan
全羅南道 Kōshū South Jeolla Gwangju

Hōko 澎湖庁 Makō Penghu Magong

Karenkō 花蓮港庁 Karenkō Hualien Hualien

Shinchiku 新竹州 Shinchiku Hsinchu Hsinchu

Taiwan
Taichū 台中州 Taichū
Republic of China
Taichung Taichung
China
(History)
Taihoku 台北州 Taihoku
(Taiwan)[21]
Greater Taipei Taipei

Tainan 台南州 Tainan Tainan Tainan

Taitō 台東庁 Taitō Taitung Taitung

Takao 高雄州 Takao Kaohsiung Kaohsiung

Kantō[22] 関東州 Dairen

Soviet
Union[23]
People's Republic of
China
part of Dalian, Liaoning

Palau Ngerulmud

Marshall Islands Majuro

Nan'yō[24] 南洋庁 Korōru
United
States[25] Federated States of Micronesia Palikir
Northern Mariana
United States Saipan
Islands

See also
List of Japanese prefectural name etymologies
List of Japanese prefectures by area
List of Japanese prefectures by population
List of Japanese prefectures by GDP
List of Japanese prefectures by GDP per capita

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List of Japanese prefectures by Human Development Index
List of Japanese prefectures by life expectancy
List of Japanese prefectures by highest mountain
List of prefectural capitals in Japan
List of Prefecture songs of Japan
ISO 3166-2 codes for Japan
List of prefectural governors in Japan
Flags of Japanese prefectures
Provinces of Japan

General
List of regions of Japan
Government of Japan

References
1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric, 2002: "Provinces and prefectures" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&
pg=PA780) in Japan encyclopedia, p. 780.
2. prefectural code ( 府県制 郡制
, fukensei), district code ( , gunsei), city code ( 市制 町村
, shisei), town and village code (
制, chōsonsei)
3. Mabuchi, Masaru, "Municipal Amalgamation in Japan" (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/wbi37175.
pdf), World Bank, 2001.
4. "Doshusei Regional System" (http://www.nira.go.jp/publ/seiken/ev18n10/ev18n10-s.html) Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20060926160741/http://www.nira.go.jp/publ/seiken/ev18n10/ev18n10-s.html) 2006-09-26 at the Wayback
Machine National Association for Research Advancement.
5. Mochida, "Local Government Organization and Finance: Japan", in Shah, Anwar (2006). Local Governance in
Industrial Countries (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/PSGLP/0,,contentMDK:2
1215193~pagePK:64156158~piPK:64152884~theSitePK:461606~isCURL:Y,00.html). World Bank.
6. National Archives of Japan: 『明治東京全図』 (http://www.archives.go.jp/exhibition/digital/henbou/contents/11.html)
7. Tokyo Metropolitan Archives: 大東京 区物語～ 区から 区へ～東京 区の歴史
35 15 23 23 (http://www.soumu.metro.tokyo.j
p/01soumu/archives/0714tokyo_ku.htm)
8. The Japan Times, December 4, 2003: Few warm to greater-Tokyo assembly idea. Kanagawa chief pushes new
administrative body to deal with regional issues (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/12/04/national/few-warm-to-
greater-tokyo-assembly-idea/)
9. Kanagawa prefectural government: 関東地方知事会 (http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/cnt/f7700/)
10. Saitama prefectural government: 関東地方知事会 (https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/a0101/kanto/)
11. " 九都県市首脳会議 " (http://www.9tokenshi-syunoukaigi.jp/). www.9tokenshi-syunoukaigi.jp.
12. " ホーム 関西広域連合
- " (https://www.kouiki-kansai.jp/).
13. "Osaka metropolis plan rejected by slim margin in 2nd referendum" (https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/602
c90c5b457-voting-begins-in-2nd-referendum-on-osaka-metropolis-plan.html). Kyodo News. 2 Nov 2020. Retrieved
14 July 2021.
14. See ISO 3166
15. " 全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 月 日時点 (10 1 ) [Areas of prefectures, cities, towns and villages (October 1)]" (https://
www.gsi.go.jp/KOKUJYOHO/MENCHO/backnumber/GSI-menseki20201001.pdf) (PDF). Geospatial Information
Authority of Japan. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. October 1, 2020. p. 5. Retrieved
18 March 2021.
16. 都庁は新宿区 (https://web.archive.org/web/20140419085331/http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/sonota/syozaiti.htm).
Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Archived from the original (http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/sonota/syozaiti.htm)
on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014. Shinjuku is the location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. But
Tokyo is not a "municipality". Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the notation of prefectural is "Tokyo".
17. Post-war administrative division changes are not reflected in this table. The capital of the former Japanese
administration is not necessarily the capital of the present-day equivalent.
18. Administered by the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands. Returned to Japan in 1972
19. Due to the division of Korea, Kōgen (Kangwon/Gangwon), Keiki (Gyeonggi) and Kōkai (Hwanghae) are divided
between North Korea and South Korea. While each Korea has its own Kangwon/Gangwon Province, the North
Korean portion of Gyeonggi and the South Korean portion of Hwanghae have been absorbed into other provinces.
20. Shunsen (Chuncheon) is in present-day South Korea.

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21. After World War II, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the administration of the Republic of China
under General Order No. 1, although they nominally remained part of Japan. Before the post-war treaties were to be
signed by the ROC and Japan, the ROC government was defeated in the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) and decamped to the island of Taiwan. Japan relinquished the claims to Taiwan and Penghu
in the Treaty of San Francisco on 28 April 1952, but the sovereignty of the islands remained undetermined to this
day. Excluding Kinmen and Matsu, which form the rump Fujian Province, Taiwan and Penghu are still today governed
by the Republic of China in a post-war capacity recognized by a few states as the sole legitimate government of
"China". See also Political status of Taiwan and Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan.
22. Leased from Qing dynasty, subsequently Republic of China and Manchukuo.
23. After World War II, the Soviet Union occupied the territory. The Soviet Union turned it over to the People's Republic of
China in 1955.
24. League of Nations mandate
25. Then administered by the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

External links
National Governors' Association website (http://www.nga.gr.jp/english/index.html)
Map of Japan showing prefectures (http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanmaps/l/blprefecturemap.htm) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20120303153926/http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanmaps/l/blprefecturemap.htm) 2012-03-03 at
the Wayback Machine
Japanese essay on types of prefectures (http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~toda-m/geo-hist/prefrank.html)
CityMayors.com profile of prefectures (http://citymayors.com/government/jap_locgov.html)

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