NIPPON JAPAN

日 Prefectures, Capitals
本 & Demographics
Ashley Eunice V. Prelligera
BA Communication 1A ようこそ
Japan [Nippon]
Capital Tokyo, oficially the Tokyo Metropolis
total population in Tokyo alone has over 14 million residents and 40.8
million if you include the nearby prefectures as of 2023.
Prior to the 17th century, Tokyo was predominantly a fishing village and
was named Edo. In 1603, however, the city ascended to political
prominence after being named the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate
The site of Tokyo has been inhabited since ancient times; The city was
renamed Tokyo, meaning “eastern capital.” Tokyo’s population exceeded
one million in the late 19th century, and as Japan’s political, economic,
and cultural centre it became one of the world’s most populous cities in
the 20th century.
Japan has 47 prefectures. On the basis of geographical and historical
background, these prefectures are distributed amongst eight regions:
Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai (Kinki), Chugoku, Shikoku, and
Kyushu-Okinawa. Each region has its own dialect, customs, and unique
traditional culture.
By function, prefectures would be the “states” of Japan,
however, by size, traveling across each “state”, prefecture, is
easier than traveling across a US state, as the United States is
about 27 times bigger than Japan!
Hokkaido [Northern Sea Circuit]
is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and
northernmost prefecture, making up its own region.
The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only
ordinance-designated city. Its population has reached 1,968,641 as of
January 1, 2024.
The only prefecture listed under Hokkaido region is Hokkaido.
Hokkaidō is one of eight prefectures in Japan that have subprefectures or local
offices (the others being Tokyo, Yamagata Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, Okinawa
Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture and Shimane Prefecture)
This is mostly due to its great size: Many parts of the prefecture are
simply too far away to be effectively administered by Sapporo.
Tohoku [North Eastern Japan]
Tohoku has long been called Michinoku (a shortening of Michi no Oku). This
term roughly means a place deeper down the road. In this case, the ‘road’
refers to the ‘eastern road’ (or the eastern country).
northernmost part of Honshu, Japan's main island. And it consists of six
prefectures: Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata, and Fukushima.
Sendai City is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the biggest city in
Tohoku. The city had a population of 1,098,335 as of August 1, 2023.
Tohoku Prefectures and Capitals
Miyagi Prefecture: Sendai (population: 1,098,000)
Akita Prefecture: Akita (population: 300,000)
Iwate Prefecture: Morioka (population: 284,000)
Aomori Prefecture: Aomori (population: 265,000)
Yamagata Prefecture: Yamagata (population: 242,000)
Fukushima Prefecture: Fukushima (population: 288,602)
Kanto Region
The population reaches 43.3 million people in the Kanto region, about 34% of
the total population of Japan, which comprises of Tokyo and the six more
prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa.
The Kanto region is best known for being home to the capital of Japan, Tokyo,
and its 14 million residents.
Kanto region is mainly divided into two sectors:
"North Kantō" (北関東, Kita Kantō) covering Ibaraki, Tochigi, and
Gunma.
"South Kantō" (南関東, Minami-Kantō) covering Saitama, Chiba,
Tokyo and Kanagawa. South Kantō is often used as synonymous
with the Greater Tokyo Area.
Kanto Prefectures and Capitals
Chiba Prefecture: Chiba (population: 943,568)
Gunma Prefecture: Maebashi (population: 317,167)
Ibaraki Prefecture: Mito (population: 263,299)
Kanagawa Prefecture: Yokohama (population: 3,643,641)
Saitama Prefecture: Urawa (population: 242,000)
Tochigi Prefecture: Utsunomiya(population: 508,114)
Tokyo Prefecture: Tokyo (population: 14 M)
Chubu [Central Region]
The Chubu (中部) region is located in the center of Honshu; Japan’s largest island. The
region is comprised of nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata,
Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi
The famous Mt. Fuji is even located on the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi
Prefectures.
The region contains over 23 million people and there are several major cities; four of
which are designated cities, while six are core cities.
A designated city is a Japanese city with a population of more than 500,000
while Core cities are similar, but don’t have as many functions delegated to them
and are required to have a population of 300,000 while spanning at least 100
square kilometers.
The designated cities are: Nagoya City, Niigata City, Hamamatsu City and Shizuoka City.
The core cities are: Kanazawa City, Toyama City, Gifu City, Nagano City, Fukui City and
Kofu City.
Chubu Prefectures and Capitals
Aichi Prefecture: Nagoya (population: 2,243,564)
Gifu Prefecture: Gifu (population: 411,753)
Fukui Prefecture: Fukui (population: 268,210)
Ishikawa Prefecture: Kanazawa (population: 455,952)
Toyama Prefecture: Toyama (population: 420,584)
Niigata Prefecture: Niigata (population: 811,613)
Shizuoka Prefecture: shizuoka (population: 709,888)
Yamanashi Prefecture: Kofu (population: 198,757)
Nagano Prefecture: Nagano (population: 377,328)
Kansai [West of the Tollgate]
located west of Honshu Island.The formal name of the region is Kinki (近畿).
So, both names of Kansai and Kinki are used.
Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century.
Then, Kyoto became the capital from the 9th.
The Emperor had lived in Kyoto (Heian-kyo) until the capital was
moved to Tokyo (Edo) in 1868, so Kyoto had been the capital for
over 1,000 years.
The size of the area is smaller than Tokyo metropolitan area, but the
population in the center of Kansai Region is over 12 million.
The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo
and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori.
Chubu Prefectures and Capitals
Nara Prefecture: Nara(population: 366,863)
Wakayama Prefecture: Wakayama (population: 371,504)
Kyoto Prefecture: Kyoto(population: 1,468,065)
Osaka Prefecture: Osaka (population: 2,649,601)
Hyogo Prefecture: Kobe(population: 1,532,305)
Shiga Prefecture: Otsu (population: 330,044)
Tottori Prefecture: Tottori (population: 199,319)
Chugoku [West of the Tollgate]
the westernmost region of Honshū Island and is also known as the Sanin-
Sanyo region.
It is made up of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and
Yamaguchi and it has a population of 7. 7 million people as of August 21,
2021.
The two largest metropolitan areas in the Chūgoku region are Hiroshima and
Okayama with a combined total population of 2.8 million. The City of
Hiroshima is its capital.
It was once governed by the Choshu Domain who was the most anti-Tokugawa
domain in the Meiji period
Chugoku Prefectures and Capitals
Okayama Prefecture: Okayama (population: 700,646)
Shimane Prefecture: Matsue (population: 195,008)
Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshima(population: 1,164,885)
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Yamaguchi (population: 191,714)
Tottori Prefecture: Tottori (population: 199,319)
Shikoku [Four Countries]
Shikoku island, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan.
The island is divided into the prefectures of Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and
Tokushima.
formerly the stated prefectures above were feudal domains known as
Iyo, Sanuki, Tosa and Awa. This explains why ‘Shikoku’ is written
with the kanji for ‘four countries’, since domains used to be called
countries.
Shikoku accounts for 5% of the total land area of Japan and its population
is 3.9 million.
The Capital City is Matsuyama in the Ehime Prefecture with a population of
507,137 inhabitants
Chugoku Prefectures and Capitals
Ehime Prefecture: Matsuyama (population: 514,771)
Kagawa Prefecture: Takamatsu(population: 417,671)
Koshi Prefecture: Kochi (population: 345,418)
Tokushima Prefecture: Tokushima (population: 265,248)
Kyushu-Okinawa [Nine Provinces]
third largest of Japan’s four main islands that is located in the southwestern
part of the country.
The Kyūshū Region consists of eight prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki,
Kumamoto, Oita, Okinawa, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima.
Okinawa is an island chain that lies considerably south of the island
of Kyushu and has a subtropical climate that supports the
cultivation of pineapples and other produce
It is home to 13.1 million people and its capital city Fukuoka of the Fukuoka
prefecture has a population of 1,434,650.
Kyushu Prefectures and Capitals
Fukuoka Prefecture: Fukuoka (population: 1,434,650)
Saga Prefecture: Saga (population: 239,003)
Nagasaki Prefecture: Nagasaki (population: 446,551)
Kumamoto Prefecture: Kumamoto(population: 670,014)
Oita Prefecture: Oita (population: 467,617)
Okinawa Prefecture: Naha(population: 313,436)
Miyazaki Prefecture: Miyazaki (population: 368,984)
Kagoshima Prefecture: Kagoshima(population: 604,268)
TRIVIA: Ancient Capital of Japan
The name “Kyoto” (written as 京都 in Japanese kanji) literally translates as
“Capital city” in contrast to the characters of “Tokyo” (東京) meaning
“Eastern Capital”
The history of Kyoto(formerly known as the Heian-kyo) goes all the way back
to the 8th century. Kyoto relinquished its title as capital of Japan, which it
had held for 1,000 years, to Tokyo in 1869. The city was built as the
capital of Japan at that time and was home to the Imperial Court until 1868
when it moved to Tokyo (formerly known as Edo)
. No longer the capital of the country today, it is still the capital of
the prefecture and superior to Tokyo when it comes to historical
sites, relics, and monuments
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