# Largest cities in Japan by population by decade

This article lists the ten most populous cities in Japan by decade, starting after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The first Japanese Census was not conducted until 1920, but other civilian and military population counts were carried out in the prior years between 1872 and 1918, and those form the source data for this article. When data is not available right on the turn of the decade, the closest year is used.

## 1873

In 1868, the Meiji Restoration deposed the Tokugawa Shogunate and founded the Empire of Japan. Many major cities had lost population since the Tokugawa Era, as samurai left the former castle towns after the collapse of the military order.
Source data is from "Nihon Chishi Teiyo" (日本地誌提要, the Japanese Topographical Outline).
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 595,905 | Formerly known as Edo, whose population is estimated to be over a million under the Tokugawa, but after the Meiji Restoration, roughly half the city's population emigrated. Nevertheless, Tokyo retained its position as Japan's largest city, which it had held since the mid 17th century. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 271,992 | |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 238,663 | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 125,193 | |
| 5 | 35 | Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 109,685 | |
| 6 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 74,305 | |
| 7 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 64,602 | |
| 8 | 55 | Wakayama | Wakayama | 61,124 | |
| 9 | 12 | Sendai | Miyagi | 51,998 | |
| 10 | 87 | Tokushima | Tokushima | 48,861 | Tokushima's last appearance in the top ten, and last appearance of any municipality from the island of Shikoku. |

## 1881

Several major cities and towns actually lost population over the 1870s, as people continued to emigrate out of the former castle towns.
Source data is from the Fourth Joint Military-Government Report (第四回共武政表), a requisitioning document listing municipal populations and available resources and provisions.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 712,259 | + 19.53% | |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 292,636 | + 7.59% | |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 236,032 | - 1.10% | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 117,401 | - 6.22% | |
| 5 | 35 | Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 108,328 | - 1.24% | |
| 6 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 74,950 | + 0.87% | |
| 7 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 72,630 | + 12.43% | |
| 8 | 55 | Wakayama | Wakayama | 58,239 | - 4.72% | Last appearance in the top ten. |
| 9 | 12 | Sendai | Miyagi | 54,496 | + 4.80% | |
| 10 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 48,786 | + 19.32% | First appearance in the top ten. |

## 1891

In 1888, the government enacted a sweeping overhaul of the municipal government system, part of which involved a drastic program of municipality mergers. Overall, the "Great Meiji Mergers" cut the number of municipalities in Japan by more than three quarters, while dramatically increasing the size of many cities as they absorbed their surrounding towns and villages.
Source data is from the 1891 Imperial Japanese Registered Household Report (日本帝国民籍戸口表).
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 1,161,800 | + 63.11% | Tokyo passed a million people, bringing the city back to its Tokugawa-era population level. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 483,609 | + 65.26% | |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 297,527 | + 26.05% | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 179,174 | + 52.62% | |
| 5 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 142,965 | +193.05% | |
| 6 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 132,627 | + 82.61% | |
| 7 | 35 | Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 93,531 | - 13.66% | Steadily decreasing in population since the Meiji Restoration. |
| 8 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 90,154 | + 20.29% | |
| 9 | 12 | Sendai | Miyagi | 64,476 | + 18.31% | |
| 10 | 38 | Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 60,581 | + 89.32% | First appearance in the top ten, and first appearance of a city from the island of Kyushu since the Tokugawa Shogunate. |

## 1898

Source data is from the 1898 Imperial Japanese Population Statistics (日本帝国人口統計).
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 1,440,121 | + 23.96% | |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 821,235 | + 69.81% | Osaka merged with its surrounding municipalities in 1897, increasing its size and population. |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 353,139 | + 18.69% | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 244,145 | + 36.26% | |
| 5 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 215,780 | + 50.93% | |
| 6 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 193,762 | + 46.10% | |
| 7 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 122,306 | + 35.66% | |
| 8 | 38 | Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 107,422 | + 77.32% | |
| 9 | 35 | Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 83,662 | - 10.55% | Kanazawa lost population for the third list in a row. |
| 10 | 12 | Sendai | Miyagi | 83,325 | + 29.23% | Last appearance in the top ten until 1950. |

## 1909

Source data is from the 1908 Imperial Japanese Population Statistics (日本帝国人口統計).
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 2,186,079 | + 51.80% | The first Japanese city to pass 2 million people. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 1,226,647 | + 49.37% | The second Japanese city to pass 1 million people, after Edo/Tokyo. |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 442,462 | + 25.29% | |
| 4 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 394,303 | +103.50% | Yokohama merged with its neighboring municipalities 1901, increasing its size and population. |
| 5 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 378,231 | + 54.92% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 378,197 | + 75.27% | |
| 7 | 38 | Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 176,480 | + 64.29% | |
| 8 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 142,763 | + 16.73% | |
| 9 | 35 | Kanazawa | Ishikawa | 110,994 | + 32.67% | Last appearance in the top ten. |
| 10 | 95 | Kure | Hiroshima | 100,679 | n/a | First appearance in the top ten. A brand new city, created in 1902 through the merger of smaller municipalities. |

## 1920

Source data is from the 1920 Census (国勢調査), the first formal census to be taken in Japan.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 2,173,201 | - 0.59% | Tokyo's growth stalled throughout the 1920s. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 1,252,983 | + 2.15% | |
| 3 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 608,644 | + 60.93% | |
| 4 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 591,323 | + 33.64% | |
| 5 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 429,997 | + 13.69% | |
| 6 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 422,938 | + 7.26% | |
| 7 | 38 | Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 176,534 | + 0.03% | |
| 8 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 160,510 | + 12.43% | |
| 9 | 81 | Hakodate | Hokkaido | 144,749 | + 64.67% | First appearance in the top ten, and first appearance of any city from Hokkaido. |
| 10 | 94 | Kure | Hiroshima | 130,362 | + 29.48% | Last appearance in the top ten. |

## 1930

Source data is from the 1930 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,453,973 | + 95.85% | Osaka merged with more surrounding municipalities in 1925, bringing the city to roughly its current size. The second Japanese city to pass 2 million people, and the new most populous city in Japan. |
| 2 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 2,070,913 | - 4.71% | Population briefly dipped below 2 million in the mid-1920s. For the first time since the early 17th century, Tokyo was no longer Japan's most populous city. |
| 3 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 907,404 | +111.03% | |
| 4 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 787,616 | + 29.41% | |
| 5 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 765,142 | + 29.39% | |
| 6 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 620,306 | + 46.67% | |
| 7 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 270,417 | + 68.47% | |
| 8 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 228,289 | +139.30% | First appearance in the top ten. |
| 9 | 38 | Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 204,626 | + 15.91% | Last appearance in the top ten. |
| 10 | 81 | Hakodate | Hokkaido | 197,252 | + 36.27% | Last appearance in the top ten. |

## 1940

Source data is from the 1940 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 6,778,804 | +227.33% | Tokyo merged with its surrounding municipalities in 1932, radically increasing its size and population. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 3,252,340 | + 32.53% | Osaka reached its peak population, becoming the second Japanese city to exceed 3 million people, alongside Tokyo. It has not yet surpassed its 1940 population. |
| 3 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 1,328,084 | + 46.36% | The third Japanese city with over a million people. |
| 4 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,089,726 | + 42.42% | The fourth Japanese city with over a million people. |
| 5 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 968,091 | + 56.07% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 967,234 | + 22.81% | |
| 7 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 343,968 | + 27.20% | Last appearance in the top ten until 1960. |
| 8 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 306,763 | + 34.37% | |
| 9 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 300,777 | +189.21% | First appearance in the top ten. |
| 10 | Nonexistent | Yahata | Fukuoka | 261,309 | + 55.54% | First and last appearance in the top ten. Yahata was merged into the new city of Kitakyushu in 1963. |

## 1950

Japan emerged from the Second World War in defeat, under temporary American administration. Many cities had been attacked by American bomber forces, and many of the largest cities suffered further loss as residents evacuated to more rural regions of the country. Cities, though, were already recovering quickly from their wartime lows.
Source data is from the 1950 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 5,385,071 | - 20.56% | In 1943, the imperial government dissolved the City of Tokyo into its constituent wards, but the Census has continued to treat it as one municipality ever since. Tokyo lost more than a million people to bombing and evacuation. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 1,956,136 | - 39.85% | Osaka lost more than a million people, and the city has never completely regained its prewar population to date. |
| 3 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,101,854 | + 1.11% | Kyoto was not attacked severely during the war. |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 1,030,635 | - 22.39% | |
| 5 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 951,189 | - 1.75% | Population briefly passed a million in 1944. Almost recovered its prewar population, despite war losses. |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 765,435 | - 20.86% | |
| 7 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 392,649 | +28.00% | Significant population gain, despite war losses. |
| 8 | 12 | Sendai | Miyagi | 341,685 | +52.54% | Second and last appearance in the top ten. Significant population gain, despite war losses. |
| 9 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 319,226 | + 6.13% | Recovered its prewar population, despite war losses. |
| 10 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 313,850 | +52.35% | First appearance in the top ten. Sapporo was not severely attacked during the war. |

## 1960

A series of municipal mergers throughout the 1950s known as the "Great Showa Mergers" cut the number of municipalities in Japan by almost two thirds, significantly increasing the size of many cities in the process. By this time, almost all of Japan's largest cities had recovered war losses and exceeded their prewar populations.
Source data is from the 1960 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,310,027 | + 54.32% | |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 3,011,563 | + 53.95% | Osaka passed 3 million people for the second time, but population remained short of the prewar record. |
| 3 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 1,591,935 | + 54.46% | |
| 4 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 1,375,710 | + 44.63% | Population passed a million for the second time. |
| 5 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,284,818 | + 16.61% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,113,977 | + 45.54% | Population passed a million people for the first time. |
| 7 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 647,122 | + 64.81% | |
| 8 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 632,975 | + 98.28% | |
| 9 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 523,839 | + 66.91% | |
| 10 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 431,336 | + 50.82% | Second appearance in the top ten, and last appearance until 1990. |

## 1970

Tokyo and Osaka began to experience a trend of suburbanization, as people left the cities for the less densely peopled surrounding municipalities. Other major cities continued to grow rapidly.
Source data is from the 1970 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,840,942 | + 6.39% | Reached a population peak in 1965. |
| 2 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,980,487 | - 1.03% | Reached its postwar population record in 1965, but subsequently dropped below 3 million people. |
| 3 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 2,238,264 | + 62.70% | Third Japanese city to pass 2 million people. |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,036,053 | + 27.90% | Fourth Japanese city to pass 2 million people. |
| 5 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,419,165 | + 10.46% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,288,937 | + 13.67% | |
| 7 | 13 | Kitakyushu | Fukuoka | 1,042,321 | n/a | First appearance in the top ten. A brand new city, formed in 1963 through the merger of five area cities, including former top ten city Yahata. |
| 8 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 1,010,123 | + 92.83% | Population passed a million for the first time. |
| 9 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 973,486 | + 53.80% | |
| 10 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 853,270 | + 31.86% | |

## 1980

Source data is from the 1980 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,351,893 | - 5.53% | |
| 2 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 2,773,674 | + 23.92% | Surpassed Osaka's population to become Japan's new second most populous Japanese city. |
| 3 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,648,180 | - 11.15% | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,087,982 | + 2.55% | |
| 5 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,473,065 | + 3.80% | |
| 6 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 1,401,757 | + 38.77% | |
| 7 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,367,390 | + 6.09% | |
| 8 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,088,588 | + 27.58% | Population passed a million for the first time. |
| 9 | 13 | Kitakyushu | Fukuoka | 1,065,078 | + 2.18% | Last appearance in the top ten. To date, 1980 is the city's population record. Kitakyushu subsequently began losing people, dropping below a million by 2005. |
| 10 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 1,040,802 | + 6.91% | Population passed a million for the first time. |

## 1990

By 1990, almost all the largest Japanese cities had assumed their present-day population ranking.
Source data is from the 1990 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,163,573 | - 2.25% | |
| 2 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 3,220,331 | + 16.10% | The third Japanese city to pass 3 million people. |
| 3 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,623,801 | - 0.92% | |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,154,793 | + 3.20% | |
| 5 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 1,671,742 | + 19.26% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,477,410 | + 8.05% | |
| 7 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,461,103 | - 0.81% | Kyoto reached its record population in 1985, and has been fluctuating just below that level ever since. |
| 8 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,237,062 | + 13.64% | |
| 9 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 1,173,603 | + 12.76% | |
| 10 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,085,705 | + 20.77% | Third appearance in the top ten. Population passed a million for the first time. |

## 2000

By 2002, the ongoing suburbanization drawing population from Tōkyō and Ōsaka was showing signs of abating, with people slowly moving back into the cities proper.
Source data is from the 2000 Census.
| Rank | 2010 Rank | Municipality | Current Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,134,688 | - 0.35% | Population reached its post-1965 low in 1995, dipping just under 8 million people, but began rising afterwards. |
| 2 | 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 3,426,651 | + 6.41% | |
| 3 | 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,598,774 | - 0.95% | Osaka's post-1965 population low. |
| 4 | 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,171,557 | + 0.78% | |
| 5 | 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 1,822,368 | + 9.01% | |
| 6 | 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,493,398 | + 1.08% | |
| 7 | 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,467,785 | + 0.46% | |
| 8 | 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,341,470 | + 8.44% | |
| 9 | 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 1,249,905 | + 6.50% | |
| 10 | 11 | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,126,239 | + 8.21% | Last appearance in the top ten to date. |

## 2010

In the mid-2000s, another series of municipal mergers was enacted. The "Great Heisei Mergers" nearly halved the number of municipalities in Japan, once again increasing the size of some cities significantly and creating new towns and cities. Despite a mounting population loss in rural areas and some smaller cities, Japan's major cities continue to grow.
Source date is from the 2010 Census.
| Rank | Municipality | Prefecture | Population | % Change | Notes |
| 1 | Tokyo | Tokyo | 8,945,695 | + 9.63% | |
| 2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 3,688,773 | + 7.67% | |
| 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,665,314 | + 2.60% | |
| 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,263,894 | + 4.25% | |
| 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaido | 1,913,545 | + 5.05% | Record population. |
| 6 | Kobe | Hyogo | 1,544,200 | + 3.45% | |
| 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,474,015 | + 0.46% | |
| 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,463,743 | + 9.12% | |
| 9 | Kawasaki | Kanagawa | 1,425,512 | + 14.06% | |
| 10 | Saitama | Saitama | 1,222,434 | n/a | First appearance in the top ten. A brand new city, formed in 2001 through the merger of area cities. |