Prefectures of Japan

are one of the basic local entities of Japan.   They are the 47 subdivisions of the country. Prefectures are the governmental bodies of Japan which are larger than cities, towns, and villages.

## History

The former provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures between 1876 and 1879.

The word _todōfuken_ combines the suffixes of the names of the 47 prefectures. The four suffixes are:

- -_to ...._ one metropolis, or large city (都 -_to_), Tokyo (東京都, _Tōkyōto_)

- _-dō_ .... one “circuit” (道 _-dō_), Hokkaido (北海道, _Hokkaidō_)
- _-fu_ .... two city prefectures (府 _-fu_), Osaka (大阪府, _Ōsakafu_) and Kyoto (京都府, _Kyōtofu_)
- _-ken_ ... forty-three other prefectures (県 _-ken_)
Before World War II, different laws applied to _fu_ and _ken,_ but now two types of prefecture are the same, outside of their names.

### List in Japanese ISO order

The prefectures are often grouped into these nine regions (_Chihō_). The regions are not formally specified, they do not have elected officials, and they are not corporate bodies.  However, the practice of ordering prefectures based on their geographic region is traditional.  This ordering is mirrored in Japan's International Organization for Standardization (ISO) coding.  From north to south, the prefectures of Japan and their commonly associated regions are listed in traditional and in ISO 3166-2:JP order:

Okinawa Prefecture is traditionally thought of as part of the Kyūshū region of Japan.   Okinawa Prefecture is made up of islands which are southwest of the island of Kyushu.  The Japanese government recognizes the prefecture as its own region in new 9-region, 11-region and 13-region systems.

### List in Western alphabetical order

- _The default alphabetic order in this sortable table can be altered to mirror the traditional Japanese regions and ISO parsing._
|Prefecture|Japanese|Capital|Region|Island|Population<sup>1</sup>|Area<sup>2</sup>|Density<sup>3</sup>|Distr.|Municip.|ISO||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Aichi|愛知県|Nagoya|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|7,043,235|align="right"|5,153.81|align="right"|1,366|align="right"|15|align="right"|88|align="right"|JP-23|
|Akita|秋田県|Akita|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,189,215|align="right"|11,612.11|align="right"|102|align="right"|8|align="right"|29|align="right"|JP-05|
|Aomori|青森県|Aomori|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,475,635|align="right"|9,606.26|align="right"|154|align="right"|8|align="right"|61|align="right"|JP-02|
|Chiba|千葉県|Chiba|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|5,926,349|align="right"|5,156.15|align="right"|1,149|align="right"|9|align="right"|80|align="right"|JP-12|
|Ehime|愛媛県|Matsuyama|bgcolor=#d16eff|Shikoku|Shikoku|align="right"|1,493,126|align="right"|5,676.44|align="right"|263|align="right"|7|align="right"|28|align="right"|JP-38|
|Fukui|福井県|Fukui|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|828,960|align="right"|4,188.76|align="right"|198|align="right"|10|align="right"|29|align="right"|JP-18|
|Fukuoka|福岡県|Fukuoka|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|5,015,666|align="right"|4,971.01|align="right"|1,009|align="right"|17|align="right"|91|align="right"|JP-40|
|Fukushima|福島県|Fukushima|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|2,126,998|align="right"|13,782.54|align="right"|154|align="right"|14|align="right"|85|align="right"|JP-07|
|Gifu|岐阜県|Gifu|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|2,107,687|align="right"|10,598.18|align="right"|199|align="right"|11|align="right"|49|align="right"|JP-21|
|Gunma|群馬県|Maebashi|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|2,024,820|align="right"|6,363.16|align="right"|318|align="right"|12|align="right"|61|align="right"|JP-10|
|Hiroshima|広島県|Hiroshima|bgcolor=#ff9148|Chūgoku|Honshū|align="right"|2,878,949|align="right"|8,476.95|align="right"|340|align="right"|10|align="right"|37|align="right"|JP-34|
|Hokkaidō|北海道|Sapporo|bgcolor=#ff8585|Hokkaidō|Hokkaidō|align="right"|5,682,950|align="right"|83,452.47|align="right"|68|align="right"|66|align="right"|207|align="right"|JP-01|
|Hyōgo|兵庫県|Kobe|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|5,550,742|align="right"|8,392.42|align="right"|661|align="right"|13|align="right"|60|align="right"|JP-28|
|Ibaraki|茨城県|Mito|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|2,985,424|align="right"|6,095.62|align="right"|490|align="right"|13|align="right"|61|align="right"|JP-08|
|Ishikawa|石川県|Kanazawa|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|1,180,935|align="right"|4,185.32|align="right"|282|align="right"|7|align="right"|25|align="right"|JP-17|
|Iwate|岩手県|Morioka|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,416,198|align="right"|15,278.51|align="right"|93|align="right"|12|align="right"|46|align="right"|JP-03|
|Kagawa|香川県|Takamatsu|bgcolor=#d16eff|Shikoku|Shikoku|align="right"|1,022,843|align="right"|1,861.70|align="right"|549|align="right"|5|align="right"|17|align="right"|JP-37|
|Kagoshima|鹿児島県|Kagoshima|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|1,786,214|align="right"|9,132.42|align="right"|196|align="right"|11|align="right"|49|align="right"|JP-46|
|Kanagawa|神奈川県|Yokohama|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|8,489,932|align="right"|2,415.42|align="right"|3,515|align="right"|7|align="right"|35|align="right"|JP-14|
|Kōchi|高知県|Kōchi|bgcolor=#d16eff|Shikoku|Shikoku|align="right"|813,980|align="right"|7,104.70|align="right"|115|align="right"|6|align="right"|35|align="right"|JP-39|
|Kumamoto|熊本県|Kumamoto|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|1,859,451|align="right"|6,908.45|align="right"|269|align="right"|10|align="right"|48|align="right"|JP-43|
|Kyoto|京都府|Kyoto|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|2,644,331|align="right"|4,612.93|align="right"|573|align="right"|6|align="right"|28|align="right"|JP-26|
|Mie|三重県|Tsu|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|1,857,365|align="right"|5760.72|align="right"|322|align="right"|7|align="right"|29|align="right"|JP-24|
|Miyagi|宮城県|Sendai|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|2,365,204|align="right"|7,285.16|align="right"|325|align="right"|10|align="right"|36|align="right"|JP-04|
|Miyazaki|宮崎県|Miyazaki|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|1,170,023|align="right"|6,684.67|align="right"|175|align="right"|8|align="right"|30|align="right"|JP-45|
|Nagano|長野県|Nagano|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|2,214,409|align="right"|12,598.48|align="right"|163|align="right"|16|align="right"|120|align="right"|JP-20|
|Nagasaki|長崎県|Nagasaki|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|1,516,536|align="right"|4,092.80|align="right"|371|align="right"|9|align="right"|79|align="right"|JP-42|
|Nara|奈良県|Nara|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|1,442,862|align="right"|3,691.09|align="right"|391|align="right"|8|align="right"|47|align="right"|JP-29|
|Niigata|新潟県|Niigata|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|2,475,724|align="right"|12,582.37|align="right"|197|align="right"|16|align="right"|111|align="right"|JP-15|
|Ōita|大分県|Ōita|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|1,221,128|align="right"|5,804.24|align="right"|210|align="right"|12|align="right"|58|align="right"|JP-44|
|Okayama|岡山県|Okayama|bgcolor=#ff9148|Chūgoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,950,656|align="right"|7,008.63|align="right"|278|align="right"|18|align="right"|78|align="right"|JP-33|
|Okinawa|沖縄県|Naha|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Ryūkyū Islands|align="right"|1,318,281|align="right"|2,271.30|align="right"|580|align="right"|5|align="right"|41|align="right"|JP-47|
|Osaka|大阪府|Osaka|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|8,804,806|align="right"|1,893.18|align="right"|4,652|align="right"|5|align="right"|44|align="right"|JP-27|
|Saga|佐賀県|Saga|bgcolor=#c5c5c5|Kyūshū|Kyūshū|align="right"|876,664|align="right"|2,439.23|align="right"|359|align="right"|8|align="right"|49|align="right"|JP-41|
|Saitama|埼玉県|Saitama|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|6,938,004|align="right"|3,767.09|align="right"|1,827|align="right"|9|align="right"|90|align="right"|JP-11|
|Shiga|滋賀県|Ōtsu|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|1,342,811|align="right"|4,017.36|align="right"|334|align="right"|11|align="right"|50|align="right"|JP-25|
|Shimane|島根県|Matsue|bgcolor=#ff9148|Chūgoku|Honshū|align="right"|761,499|align="right"|6,707.32|align="right"|114|align="right"|12|align="right"|59|align="right"|JP-32|
|Shizuoka|静岡県|Shizuoka|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|3,767,427|align="right"|7,328.61|align="right"|484|align="right"|12|align="right"|74|align="right"|JP-22|
|Tochigi|栃木県|Utsunomiya|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|2,004,787|align="right"|6,408.28|align="right"|313|align="right"|7|align="right"|33|align="right"|JP-09|
|Tokushima|徳島県|Tokushima|bgcolor=#d16eff|Shikoku|Shikoku|align="right"|823,997|align="right"|4,145.26|align="right"|199|align="right"|10|align="right"|50|align="right"|JP-36|
|Tokyo|東京都|Shinjuku|bgcolor=#79ff76|Kantō|Honshū|align="right"|12,059,237|align="right"|2,187.08|align="right"|5,514|align="right"|1|align="right"|39|align="right"|JP-13|
|Tottori|鳥取県|Tottori|bgcolor=#ff9148|Chūgoku|Honshū|align="right"|613,229|align="right"|3,507.19|align="right"|175|align="right"|6|align="right"|39|align="right"|JP-31|
|Toyama|富山県|Toyama|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|1,120,843|align="right"|4,247.22|align="right"|264|align="right"|6|align="right"|27|align="right"|JP-16|
|Wakayama|和歌山県|Wakayama|bgcolor=#9696ff|Kansai|Honshū|align="right"|1,069,839|align="right"|4,725.55|align="right"|226|align="right"|7|align="right"|50|align="right"|JP-30|
|Yamagata|山形県|Yamagata|bgcolor=#fffb91|Tōhoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,244,040|align="right"|9,323.34|align="right"|133|align="right"|9|align="right"|44|align="right"|JP-06|
|Yamaguchi|山口県|Yamaguchi|bgcolor=#ff9148|Chūgoku|Honshū|align="right"|1,528,107|align="right"|6,110.76|align="right"|250|align="right"|11|align="right"|56|align="right"|JP-35|
|Yamanashi|山梨県|Kōfu|bgcolor=#8bffe8|Chūbu|Honshū|align="right"|888,170|align="right"|4,465.37|align="right"|199|align="right"|8|align="right"|64|align="right"|JP-19|
<div class="small">
- <small>_Notes_: 1- _Population_ as of 2000; 2- _Area_ km<sup>2</sup>; 3- _Density_ per km<sup>2</sup></small>
</div>

## Related pages

- Provinces of Japan
- List of regions of Japan
- List of islands of Japan

## Further reading

- Steiner, Kurt. (1965). _Local Government in Japan._ Stanford: Stanford University Press. OCLC 250059672

## Other websites

- National Governors' Association Website (English)
- Map of Japan showing administrative divisions
- Japanese essay on types of prefectures
- Local Authorities for International Relations (English)
- CityMayors.com profile of prefectures
- Japan Mint. Japan 47 Prefectures Coin Program