Districts of Japan

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Updates: 

From the county data sent to me by Mario Pezza, I learned that the capital of Saitama prefecture has changed its name. The old capital, Urawa, merged with two other cities, Omiya and Yono, forming Saitama city.

The Japanese Statistics Bureau has posted the results  of the 2000 census on its Website. The populations of the prefectures from that census have been added to this page.

Country overview: 

In 1900, Japan consisted of its present territory plus two major components. Taiwan, then more often called Formosa, with the Pescadores Islands, had been conquered from China and made a Japanese colony in 1895. The Kuril Islands, known to the Japanese as Chishima, had been annexed from Russia in 1875. Japan acquired additional lands as a result of the Russo-Japanese war of 1905: the southern half of Sakhalin Island (Karafuto in Japanese), the Kwantung peninsula, and other strongholds in Manchuria. Korea became a Japanese protectorate in 1905-12, then a colony on 1910-08-22. In 1920, by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Japan picked up the former German islands of Micronesia, making them its territory of Nanyo. In 1931, it invaded Manchuria, and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo there the following year. As World War II drew near and broke out, Japan extended its military occupation to much of the Far East and the Pacific. When the war ended in 1945, all of these conquests were taken from Japan, and restored, as far as possible, to their former status. Some of the islands in the southern chains, notably Okinawa, were placed under U.S. military administration, but later reintegrated into Japan. Nanyo became a trust territory of the United States on 1947-04-02. Japan still asserts its claim to the southern Kuril Islands, including Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, Shibotsu, and Suisho, which have been administratively part of Russia since the war's end.

Spelling note: Although several different transliteration methods have been used to convert from Japanese characters to the Roman alphabet, there is a surprising degree of unanimity about the Romanized form of Japanese place names, even in the other languages covered here. In some references, macrons are used to indicate long vowels. ISO standard 3166-2 is an exception; it uses a different transliteration method (and uses circumflex accents instead of macrons). Names as shown by ISO will be found under "Other names of subdivisions". (ISO also appends the generic -Ken, -Do, -Fu, or -To to the prefecture name, as in Aichi-Ken or Osaka-Fu. This form often appears in postal addresses, too.)

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Japan
2. Dutch: Japan
3. Finnish: Japani
4. French: Japon m
5. German: Japan n
6. Italian: Giappone m
7. Japanese: Nihon (formal), Nippon (formal)
8. Norwegian: Japan
9. Portuguese: Japão m
10. Spanish: Japón
11. Swedish: Japan

Origin of name: 

Chinese ri: sun, ben: origin (i.e. land of the rising sun)

Primary subdivisions: 

Japan is divided into 43 ken (prefectures), one to (metropolis - Tokyo), one do (territory - Hokkaido), and two fu (urban prefectures - Kyoto and Osaka). The four words are combined in one, todofuken, to denote a division of any type.

Regions have no administrative function. Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku correspond to three of the main islands of Japan. Ryukyu consists of smaller islands in the south. The other five regions correspond to the largest island, Honshu.

Postal codes: 

Japan uses seven-digit postal codes, with a hyphen between the third and fourth digits. Earlier versions of the current system used only the first three or first five digits.

Further subdivisions:

See the Counties of Japan page.

The prefecture-level units are subdivided into gun (counties), shi (cities), shicho (branch administration), and one "area", which corresponds to the 23 wards of Tokyo.

Alan Pritchard, of the Global Gazetteer , writes that the divisions of Japan are on six levels. He has received some of this information from a Japanese organization, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations.

On the highest level, below Japan itself, come the 43 ken (prefectures), one to (metropolis), one do (territory), two fu (urban prefectures), and twelve serei shitei toshi (specially designated cities; Saitama's website says that it is now the thirteenth). They are all listed in "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries" except for the specially designated cities, which are commonly grouped with the prefectures in which they are located. The Japanese word for the type of division is normally suffixed to the name of the division, e.g., "Aomori-ken".

On the second level are gun (counties) and shi (cities). The counties have no administrative function. They are groups of rural municipalities that are used for postal purposes. Each prefecture is completely subdivided into counties and cities.

On the third level are shi (cities), machi and cho (both translated as towns), mura and son (villages), and ku (wards; in Tokyo only). I have seen it stated that the name Tokyo doesn't represent a city, but only a prefecture (Tokyo-to). Japanese use the phrase "the twenty-three wards" to refer to what outsiders think of as the city of Tokyo. Each of these wards has its own local administrations, similar to a city's. "Municipalities" is a generic term comprehending cities, towns, and villages.

On the fourth level are ku (wards) outside of Tokyo. I assume that these are divisions of cities, and not found in towns or villages.

The fifth level includes machi and cho. In some cases, machi and cho on the fifth level are subdivisions of machi and cho on the third level. If my understanding is correct, the fourth-level wards and the fifth-level machi and cho are mutually exclusive, so it would also make sense to combine them into a single level.

Finally, on the sixth level are chome (districts). Most of them are numbered rather than named: 3-chome, etc.

This account omits the nine regions, which are groups of prefectures, but don't have any administrative function.

Territorial extent: 

Each prefecture except Okinawa lies mainly on one of the four large islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. (The island locale of each prefecture can be deduced from the region column above.) Most prefectures also contain some smaller islands. This list shows these additional islands roughly in decreasing order of size. ('Island' may be represented by -shima, -jima, or -to.)

1. Aichi: Saku-shima, Shino-shima, Himaga-shima
2. Aomori: Kyuroku-jima
3. Ehime: Omi-shima, O-shima, Naka-jima, Hakata-jima, Nuwa-jima, Gogo-shima, Hiburi-shima, Uo-shima, Shisaka-jima
4. Fukuoka: O-shima, Jino-shima, Aino-shima
5. Hiroshima: Eta-jima, Kurahashi-jima, Osaki-kami-jima, Itsuku-shima, Inno-shima, Ikuchi-shima, Osaki-shimo-jima, Hashiri-jima
6. Hokkaido: Okushiri-shima, Rishiri-to, Rebun-to, O-shima, Ko-jima
7. Hyogo: Awaji-shima, Nu-shima, and the Ieshima-shoto group
8. Ishikawa: Noto-jima, Hekura-jima, and the Nanatsu-shima group
9. Kagawa: Shodo-shima, Te-shima, Hiro-shima, Hon-jima, Nao-shima (part), Awa-shima, Megi-jima, Ibuki-jima
10. Kagoshima: Amami-o-shima, Yaku-jima, Tanega-shima, Tokuno-shima, Koshikijima Retto (including Kamikoshiki-jima and Shimokoshiki-jima), Okino-erabu-shima, Naga-shima, Shishi-jima, Kikai-shima, Yoron-jima, and other islands of the Satsunan-shoto group
11. Kochi: Okino-shima, Uguru-shima
12. Kumamoto: Amakusa-shoto group
13. Mie: Toshi-jima, Suga-jima, Kami-shima
14. Miyagi: Kinkazan-to, Aji-shima, Miyato-shima, Tashiro-jima
15. Miyazaki: Shimaura-to
16. Nagasaki: Tsu-shima (actually two main islands), Fukue-jima, Nakadori-jima, Iki-shima, Hirado-shima, Azuchi-oshima, and other islands of the Goto Retto group
17. Niigata: Sado-shima, Awa-shima
18. Oita: Hime-shima, Onyu-jima, Muku-shima, Hoto-jima, Fuka-shima
19. Okayama: Kono-shima, Kitagi-shima, Kakui-shima, Naga-shima, Nao-shima (part)
20. Okinawa consists of the Okinawa-shoto group. It includes several smaller groups, such as Sakishima-shoto, Senkaku-shoto, and Daito-shoto (Borodino Islands). Some of the larger islands are Okinawa-jima, Miyako-jima, Iriomote-jima, Ishigaki-jima, Kume-jima, and Iheya-jima. The most remote are Yonaguni-jima in the west and Okidaito-jima in the southeast. The name Ryukyu Islands, or Nansei-shoto, encompasses both Okinawa and Satsunan-shoto, the islands of Kagoshima prefecture.
21. Saga: Madara-shima, Kakara-shima
22. Shimane: Okino-Shima (the Oki Islands), consisting of Dogo and Dozen, where Dozen in turn consists of Nishino-shima, Nakano-shima, and Chiburi-jima; also the islands of Yatsuka village, in the inlet of Nakano-umi
23. Tokushima: Oge-jima, O-shima, I-shima, Ao-shima
24. Tokyo includes a long string of islands stretching almost due south for about 800 km. Among the largest islands are O-shima, Hachijo-jima, Miyake-jima, Nii-jima, Io-jima (Iwo Jima), and Chichi-jima. Island groups in Tokyo prefecture include Izu-shoto, Ogasawara-gunto (Bonin Islands), and Kazan Retto (Volcano Islands). The most remote islands from the Japanese mainland are Okino-tori-shima (Parece Vela) to the southwest, Minami-iwo-jima to the south, and Minami-tori-shima (Marcus) to the southeast.
25. Wakayama: O-shima, Chino-shima, Okino-shima; Wakayama also has two exclaves on the border between Mie and Nara, containing the villages of Kitayama and Tamakiguchi.
26. Yamagata: Tobi-shima
27. Yamaguchi: Yashiro-jima, Heigun-to, Kasado-shima, Omi-shima, Naga-shima, Otsu-shima, Mi-shima, Muko-shima, Ya-shima, Iwai-shima, Tsuno-shima, Futai-jima, Hashira-jima, Aino-shima, O-shima

Origins of names: 

1. Akita: Japanese for field of ripe rice
2. Aomori: Japanese for green forest
3. Chiba: Japanese for a thousand leaves
4. Ehime: Japanese ai: to love, hime: princess
5. Fujisawa: Japanese fuji: wisteria, sawa: valley
6. Fukui: Japanese fuku: luck, i: good
7. Fukuoka: Japanese fuku: luck, oka: hill
8. Fukushima: Japanese fuku: luck, shima: island
9. Fukuyama: Japanese fuku: luck, yama: mountain
10. Funabashi: Japanese fune: ship, hashi: bridge (i.e. floating bridge)
11. Gumma: Japanese gun: group, ma: horse
12. Hiroshima: Japanese hiro: broad, shima: island
13. Hokkaido: Japanese hoku: north, kai: sea, do: province
14. Hyogo: Japanese hyo: army, ko: storehouse
15. Ibaraki: Japanese ibara: thorn, ki: castle
16. Ishikawa: Japanese ishi: stone, kawa: river
17. Iwate: Japanese iwa: rock, te: hand
18. Kyoto: Japanese for capital
19. Nagasaki: Japanese naga: long, saki: cape
20. Tokyo: Japanese to: east, kyo: capital

Change history: 

The division into prefectures dates from 1871, as the Meiji restoration eliminated fiefs.

1. 1947-07-19: Nanyo became a trust territory of the United States.
2. 1968-06-26: United States restored the Ogasawara (Bonin), Kazan Retto, Rosario, Parece Vela, and Minami-Tori (Marcus) Islands to Japan.
3. 1972-05-15: Okinawa restored to Japan, becoming its 47th prefecture.
4. 2001-05-01: Capital of Saitama prefecture (Urawa) merged with Omiya and Yono, forming the new city Saitama.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Aichi: Aiti (variant)
2. Chiba: Tiba (variant)
3. Fukui: Hukui (variant)
4. Fukuoka: Hukuoka (variant)
5. Fukushima: Hukusima (variant)
6. Gifu: Gihu (variant)
7. Gumma: Gunma (variant)
8. Hiroshima: Hirosima (variant)
9. Hokkaido: Ezo, Yeso, Yezo (obsolete)
10. Hyogo: Hiogo (variant)
11. Ishikawa: Isikawa (variant)
12. Kochi: Koti (variant)
13. Kyoto: Kioto (variant)
14. Mie: Miye (variant)
15. Shiga: Siga (variant)
16. Shimane: Simane (variant)
17. Shizuoka: Sizuoka (variant)
18. Tochigi: Totigi (variant)
19. Tokushima: Tokusima (variant)
20. Tokyo: Edo, Yedo (obsolete); Tokio (Spanish, variant); Tóquio (Portuguese)
21. Yamaguchi: Yamaguti (variant)
22. Yamanashi: Yamanasi (variant)

Population history:

Division	1896	1920	1930	1940	1950-10-01	1960-10-01	1970-10-01	1980-10-01	1990-10-01	2000-10-01
Aichi	1,557,000	2,090,000	2,567,000	3,166,592	3,391,000	4,206,000	5,386,000	6,222,000	6,690,440	7,043,300
Akita	755,000	899,000	988,000	1,052,275	1,309,000	1,336,000	1,241,000	1,257,000	1,227,491	1,189,279
Aomori	593,000	756,000	880,000	1,000,509	1,283,000	1,427,000	1,428,000	1,524,000	1,482,935	1,475,728
Chiba	1,247,000	1,336,000	1,470,000	1,588,425	2,139,000	2,306,000	3,367,000	4,735,000	5,555,467	5,926,285
Ehime	972,000	1,047,000	1,142,000	1,178,705	1,522,000	1,501,000	1,418,000	1,507,000	1,515,027	1,493,092
Fukui	632,000	599,000	618,000	643,904	752,000	753,000	744,000	794,000	823,595	828,944
Fukuoka	1,314,000	2,188,000	2,527,000	3,094,132	3,530,000	4,007,000	4,027,000	4,553,000	4,811,179	5,015,699
Fukushima	1,028,000	1,363,000	1,508,000	1,625,521	2,062,000	2,051,000	1,946,000	2,035,000	2,104,119	2,126,935
Gifu	981,000	1,070,000	1,178,000	1,265,024	1,545,000	1,638,000	1,759,000	1,960,000	2,066,579	2,107,700
Gumma	749,000	1,053,000	1,186,000	1,299,027	1,601,000	1,578,000	1,659,000	1,849,000	1,966,287	2,024,852
Hiroshima	1,400,000	1,542,000	1,692,000	1,869,504	2,082,000	2,184,000	2,436,000	2,739,000	2,849,822	2,878,915
Hokkaido	508,000	2,359,000	2,812,000	3,272,718	4,296,000	5,039,000	5,184,000	5,576,000	5,643,715	5,683,062
Hyogo	1,618,000	2,302,000	2,646,000	3,221,232	3,310,000	3,906,000	4,668,000	5,145,000	5,405,090	5,550,574
Ibaraki	1,101,000	1,350,000	1,487,000	1,620,000	2,039,000	2,047,000	2,144,000	2,558,000	2,845,411	2,985,676
Ishikawa	782,000	747,000	757,000	757,676	957,000	973,000	1,002,000	1,119,000	1,164,627	1,180,977
Iwate	701,000	846,000	976,000	1,095,793	1,347,000	1,449,000	1,371,000	1,422,000	1,416,960	1,416,180
Kagawa	685,000	678,000	733,000	730,394	946,000	919,000	908,000	1,000,000	1,023,434	1,022,890
Kagoshima	1,076,000	1,416,000	1,557,000	1,589,467	1,804,000	1,963,000	1,729,000	1,785,000	1,797,766	1,786,194
Kanagawa	754,000	1,323,000	1,620,000	2,188,974	2,488,000	3,443,000	5,472,000	6,924,000	7,980,421	8,489,974
Kochi	600,000	671,000	718,000	709,286	874,000	855,000	787,000	831,000	825,063	813,949
Kumamoto	1,112,000	1,233,000	1,354,000	1,368,179	1,828,000	1,856,000	1,700,000	1,790,000	1,840,383	1,859,344
Kyoto	914,000	1,287,000	1,553,000	1,729,993	1,833,000	1,993,000	2,250,000	2,527,000	2,602,520	2,644,391
Mie	976,000	1,069,000	1,157,000	1,198,783	1,461,000	1,485,000	1,543,000	1,687,000	1,792,542	1,857,339
Miyagi	817,000	962,000	1,143,000	1,271,238	1,663,000	1,743,000	1,819,000	2,082,000	2,248,521	2,365,320
Miyazaki	439,000	651,000	760,000	840,357	1,091,000	1,135,000	1,051,000	1,152,000	1,168,922	1,170,007
Nagano	1,212,000	1,563,000	1,717,000	1,710,729	2,061,000	1,982,000	1,957,000	2,084,000	2,156,656	2,215,168
Nagasaki	796,000	1,136,000	1,233,000	1,370,063	1,645,000	1,760,000	1,570,000	1,591,000	1,563,015	1,516,523
Nara	526,000	565,000	596,000	620,509	764,000	781,000	930,000	1,209,000	1,375,478	1,442,795
Niigata	1,797,000	1,776,000	1,933,000	2,064,402	2,461,000	2,442,000	2,361,000	2,451,000	2,474,602	2,475,733
Oita	822,000	860,000	946,000	972,975	1,253,000	1,240,000	1,156,000	1,229,000	1,236,924	1,221,140
Okayama	1,109,000	1,218,000	1,284,000	1,329,358	1,661,000	1,670,000	1,707,000	1,871,000	1,925,913	1,950,828
Okinawa	440,000	572,000	578,000	574,579	915,000	883,000	945,000	1,107,000	1,222,458	1,318,220
Osaka	1,280,000	2,588,000	3,540,000	4,792,966	3,857,000	5,505,000	7,620,000	8,473,000	8,734,670	8,805,081
Saga	602,000	674,000	692,000	701,517	945,000	943,000	838,000	866,000	877,865	876,654
Saitama	1,149,000	1,320,000	1,459,000	1,608,039	2,146,000	2,431,000	3,866,000	5,420,000	6,405,319	6,938,006
Shiga	702,000	651,000	692,000	703,679	861,000	843,000	890,000	1,080,000	1,222,401	1,342,832
Shimane	713,000	715,000	740,000	740,940	913,000	889,000	774,000	785,000	781,005	761,503
Shizuoka	1,173,000	1,550,000	1,798,000	2,017,860	2,471,000	2,756,000	3,090,000	3,447,000	3,670,891	3,767,393
Tochigi	759,000	1,046,000	1,142,000	1,206,657	1,550,000	1,514,000	1,580,000	1,792,000	1,935,186	2,004,817
Tokushima	688,000	670,000	717,000	718,717	879,000	847,000	791,000	825,000	831,582	824,108
Tokyo	1,468,000	3,699,000	5,409,000	7,354,971	6,278,000	9,684,000	11,408,000	11,618,000	11,854,987	12,064,101
Tottori	414,000	455,000	489,000	484,390	600,000	599,000	569,000	604,000	615,741	613,289
Toyama	789,000	724,000	779,000	822,569	1,009,000	1,033,000	1,030,000	1,103,000	1,120,182	1,120,851
Wakayama	666,000	750,000	831,000	865,074	982,000	1,002,000	1,043,000	1,087,000	1,074,321	1,069,912
Yamagata	808,000	969,000	1,080,000	1,119,338	1,357,000	1,321,000	1,226,000	1,252,000	1,258,404	1,244,147
Yamaguchi	967,000	1,041,000	1,136,000	1,294,242	1,541,000	1,602,000	1,511,000	1,587,000	1,572,645	1,527,964
Yamanashi	491,000	583,000	631,000	663,026	811,000	782,000	762,000	804,000	852,980	888,172
	42,682,000	55,962,000	64,451,000	73,114,308	84,113,000	94,302,000	104,663,000	117,058,000	123,611,541	126,925,843

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