Municipalities in Japan

Shikuchōson is a term which was made up in the Meiji period.  In this invented word, each kanji represents one of the four types of municipalities. are the local governments and sub-divisions of the island nation.Jacobs, A.J.  "Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s," Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011); doi:10.1155/2011/692764; retrieved 2012-3-23.

There are three main types of municipalities in Japan: 
cities, 
towns, 
villages 

There is a fourth type of municipality — the 23 special wards of Tokyo. 

History
In 1878, the national government enacted the "Municipalities Formation Law", the "Prefectural Assemblies Act", and the "Local Tax Ordinance".  Japan was organized into three levels of government: 
 the national government of Japan
 the mid-level Prefectures of Japan
 the local municipality governments

In 1889, the ''shikuchōson was refined to create 39 cities and 15,820 towns and villages. The "Municipal Government Act" was a blend of Japanese customs and Prussia’s local government system.  

After 1898, local officials were elected in municipal elections.

Since the 19th century, Japan has been divided into 47 prefectures; and each prefecture has many districts and municipalities.

In 1947, the "Local Autonomy Law" (LAL) further refined Japan's municipalities.

Related pages

 Capital of Japan
 Provinces of Japan
 Districts of Japan

References

Other websites
  graphic shows municipalities in context (PDF 7 of 40)


Japan