Prefectures of Japan: description, history, list and features

Administrative divisions of Japan

The structure of the state harmoniously combines traditions and innovations. The system of traditional ideas of Shintoism and Buddhism has led to the fact that in the Land of the Rising Sun great importance is attached to hierarchy. Any solution goes through certain levels, each of which complements and enriches it. Japan is characterized by both subordination to one's elders - in terms of status and age - and respect for a person's sovereign opinion and personal space. This became the basis for the allocation of territorial units in the country. At the end of the 19th century, administrative reforms took place in the country, which preserved the old form, but introduced improvements to it. This is how the prefectures of Japan, or todofuken, came into being. At first there were about 300, then there was a reduction to 72, and in 1888 their current number was determined - 47. In turn, prefectures can be divided into counties and districts. They are also part of larger regions; there are only 8 of them in Japan. Today, the rapid growth of some cities again raises the need to reform the territorial division of the country, but they are still in the draft.

Types of prefectures

Historically, the country has developed four types of territorial management:

- That. The Tokyo metropolitan area is designated as a separate administrative unit;

- ken. These are the prefectures themselves, which provide for a greater degree of autonomy from the central government; there are 43 of them in the country;

- before. This is a special territory with its own rights and characteristics - Hokkaido;

- ugh. These are two cities that have the status of a separate district: Kyoto and Osaka.

In turn, smaller parts are distinguished within these large territories. Each administrative unit is headed by its own governor; he has fairly broad rights to govern his part of the country. The prefectures of Japan are in close cooperation with the center, but are not subordinate to it in everything. Moreover, all positions of local government, including its head, are elected. The goal of territorial policy is to prevent conflict situations.

Full list

Eight large regions unite all the prefectures of Japan. The list of administrative units is as follows:

— Hokkaido is a special prefecture divided into 14 districts;

— the Kyushu region includes the prefectures: Miyazaki, Okinawa, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Saga, Oita, Fukuoka;

— Tohoku unites Fukushima, Aomori, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Iwate;

— Shikoku includes the prefectures of Tokushima, Kagawa, Kochi, Ehime;

— the Kanto region consists of the prefectures of Chiba, Tochigi, Saitama, Ibaraki, Gunma, Tokyo;

— Chugoku unites Yamaguchi, Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima;

— the Kinki region consists of the prefectures of Wakayama, Hyogo, Mie, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga;

- Chubu includes the territorial units of Yamanashi, Gifu, Nagano, Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama, Fukui, Shizuoka, Aichi.

Lists of prefectures

Prefectures of Japan with colored regions
Various frame parsing systems are ways in which Japanese prefectures are perceived:

Japanese ISO

Prefectures are also often divided into eight regions ( Chih

). These regions are not formally defined, have no elected officials, and are not legal entities. But the practice of ordering prefectures based on their geographic region is traditional. This order is reflected in the Japanese International Organization for Standardization (ISO) encoding. From north to south (numbering in ISO 3166-2: order) the prefectures of Japan and their commonly associated regions are:

By English name

The default alphabetical order in this sortable table can be changed to reflect traditional Japanese regions and ISO analysis.

Notes: ¹ as of 2015; ² km²; ³ per km²

Territorial disputes

If you look at the Japanese version of the world map, you can see that it has a number of inconsistencies with maps created in other countries. This is due to the fact that Japan considers as its own some territories that officially belong to other states. Territorial disputes exist between the Land of the Rising Sun, China, Korea and Russia. Thus, part of the islands of the Kuril chain are, according to the Japanese, part of the Hokkaido Prefecture of Japan. The dispute arose as a result of the fact that following the Second World War in 1946, these islands became part of the Soviet Union. Before this, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin were at times the property of Russia, and at times Japan. Historically, these lands were first inhabited by the Japanese.

Former prefectures

1870s

See the Japanese Wikipedia article for all the changes during that period. See also list of prefectures in Japan by population in English Wikipedia#Historical demographics of prefectures in Japan for lists of prefectures since the late 1860s.

1880s

Lost after World War II

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

Prefectural flags

The prefectures of Japan emphasize their independence and uniqueness by having their own flag. Japanese culture attaches special importance to coats of arms and flags: they not only serve as a means of identifying a territory, but also convey a certain key message that describes the special characteristics of the region. Almost every village in the country has its own flag, not to mention the prefectures. The banners are decorated with pictograms with deep meaning; it is not always clear to a foreigner, but is well read by the residents of the country. Looking at the flags, you can see geometric and stylized images that are encrypted messages. For example, the city and prefecture of Aomori in Japan decorated its flag with a stylized symbol that is difficult for Europeans to read - the “crown of Honshu.” This is a simplified depiction of the outlines of the three parts that make up the land of the region. The background of the flag is white, which means the vastness of the prefecture, and the green color of the figure symbolizes hope for the development and prosperity of these lands. And Tottori Prefecture (Japan) decorated its flag with a white hiragana “to” sign, reminiscent of a white bird in flight. This image for the people of the region means freedom, development and peace of the prefecture.

Powers[edit]

Main article: Government of Japan § Local government

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

The functions of the prefectural government include the organization of prefectural police, school supervision and maintenance of prefectural schools (mostly high schools), prefectural hospitals, prefectural roads, supervision of prefectural waterways, and regional urban planning. Their responsibilities include tasks delegated to them by the national government, such as maintaining most regular national roads (with the exception of certain major cities), and the prefectures coordinate and support their municipalities in their functions. De facto prefectures as well as municipalities were often less autonomous than the formal extent of local autonomy law suggests because

• most are heavily dependent on central government funding - a dependence that has recently been exacerbated in many regions by demographic transitions that are hitting rural areas harder/earlier as cities can partly offset this through rural migration, and
• In many policy areas, the basic framework is strictly established by national laws, and prefectures and municipalities are autonomous only within these frameworks.

Prefecture coins

Since 2008, the mint began producing “Japanese Prefecture” coins, which are also designed to highlight the uniqueness of each region. While not all prefectures have acquired their own coin, this program lasted for several years. But the issued banknotes impress with their beauty and thoughtfulness: the most important symbols of the territory are chosen for the image. For example, a coin from Shiga Prefecture features a drawing of the outline of Lake Biwa, the largest in Japan. Also on the reverse you can see an image of the little grebe bird, which lives on the lake. The coins of Okinawa, Miyazaki and Kanagawa prefectures depict warriors in typical attire for the region. The main architectural landmarks of the territory were chosen as the background for the human figures.

Special territory

Among all the regions of the country, Hokkaido Prefecture is the most different. Japan finally annexed this territory to its lands only in 1869 as a result of colonization. Before this time, very ancient settlements existed here. The Jomon culture began to take shape as early as the 6th millennium BC. It then transformed into the Satsumon culture, and in the 13th century AD it became the source for the emergence of the unique Ainu culture. This nation experienced constant Japanese encroachment on their lands; relations between the two cultures consisted of an alternation of wars and peaceful trade. But at the end of the 19th century, the island was finally colonized by the Japanese. But since those times, a special atmosphere has been preserved here, which is also supported by the special rights of this territorial unit. It is headed by a governor rather than a prefect, as in other states, Hokkaido has more autonomy and rights compared to other prefectures. The main city of the region is Sapporo. Hokkaido is the northernmost and largest prefecture of Japan. The country believes that part of the Kuril Islands should belong to this prefecture. The blue flag of Hokkaido Prefecture is decorated with a white seven-pointed star with red lines in the middle. In some ways this sign resembles a snowflake and symbolizes hope and development. For the Japanese, blue means the sea and sky of northern Hokkaido, white means light and snow, and red means the life-affirming energy of the people.

Other attractions

There are other attractions you can see on the Okinawa Islands in Japan. For example, the city of Chatan is a resort. It is very conveniently located for various tourist shops and catering establishments.

Also on the archipelago, it is worth visiting the large oceanarium Okinawa Churaumi, located in the park. It was built in 2002, its design is elegant, and the building looks like huge feet. There you can look not only at representatives of tropical, oceanic and underwater habitats. At the upper entrance, visitors will be able to see a beautiful view of coral reefs with unique species of fish. The lower you go, the more picturesque the view you will see.

The northern part of Okinawa is a mountainous region. In the center there are mountains with a height of 300 to 500 m. Residents call this area Yambaru. There you can see unique species of animals and plants.

A special place in southern Okinawa is Sefa Utaki, which is a sacred place and is mentioned in Ryukyuan legends. It was there that the monks were ordained, and the monarch personally visited this place twice a year to pray to the gods for a good harvest and hunting. This is a triangular grotto created by nature about 150,000 years ago as a result of an earthquake. Safa Utaki is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.