The bureaucratic administration of Japan is divided into three basic levels; national, prefectural, and municipal. They are defined by the

Local Autonomy Law The , passed by the House of Representatives and the House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation Database SystemLocal Autonomy Act/ref> is an Act of devolution t ...

of 1947. Below the national government there are 47

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, six of which are further subdivided into subprefectures to better service large geographical areas or remote islands. The 1718

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(792 cities, 743 towns, and 183 villages) and 23

special wards are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities. Although the autono ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

are the lowest level of government; the twenty most-populated cities outside Tokyo Metropolis are known as Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated cities and are subdivided into Wards of Japan, wards.

Prefectural divisions

The top tier of administrative divisions are the 47 prefectural entities: 43 proper, two , one , and one . Although different in name, they are functionally the same.

''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 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 of Tokyo, special wards. The ''kanji'' (character) from which this is derived means "capital".

''Fu''

Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture are referred to as an . 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 , this term was originally used to refer to List of regions of Japan, Japanese regions consisting of several Provinces of Japan, 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

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.Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903)
''Japan in the beginning of the 20th century'', p. 80

District

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 (China), commandery.

Municipal divisions

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 , also known as a or , 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

. Designated cities are also subdivided into wards.

Core city

A 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. Core city was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 22 of the

of Japan.

Special city

A of Japan is a Cities of Japan, city with a population of at least 200,000. This category was established by the

, article 252 clause 26.

City

A is a local Public administration, 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 and ; the only difference is that they are not a component of . Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the

of 1947.

Town

A is a Local government, local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with Prefectures of Japan, prefecture (''ken'' or other equivalents), Cities of Japan, city (''shi''), and Villages of Japan, village (''mura''). Geographically, a town is contained within a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture.

Village

A is a Local government, local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with , , and . Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture. It is larger than an actual settlement, being in actuality a subdivision of a rural , which are subdivided into Towns of Japan, towns and villages with no overlap and no uncovered area.

Special Ward

The are 23

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

and is unique to Tokyo Metropolis.

Submunicipal divisions

Ward

A is a subdivision of the cities of Japan that are large enough to have been City designated by government ordinance, designated by government ordinance."Statistical Handbook of Japan 2008" by Statistics Bureau, Japan
Chapter 17: Government System (Retrieved on 4 July 2009)

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 Government of Meiji Japan, Meiji government in 1871 are similar. Before the abolition of the han system, Japan was divided into then subdivided into and then at the bottom.

Structural hierarchy

References

External links

{{Asia topic, Administrative divisions of Subdivisions of Japan, Administrative divisions in Asia, Japan Lists of subdivisions of Japan,