openaddresses/openaddresses — pull request #707 by sbma44 (2014-11-23 16:08:40+00:00)
Title: Japan (block-level address points)

depends on https://github.com/openaddresses/openaddresses-conform/pull/30
source URL: http://nlftp.mlit.go.jp/isj/data.html
license: http://nlftp.mlit.go.jp/ksj/other/yakkan.html (I don't speak Japanese, but based on Google Translate it looks pretty good to me)

There's coverage for all 47 prefectures. Note that this purports to be block-level points, not individual addresses. [Japan's address scheme is a hierarchy based on blocks, not streets](en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_addressing_system). House numbers exist but I'm not aware of a good open dataset of them (they don't appear to be that useful anyway -- I've heard anecdotally that directions are usually conveyed by faxed maps, not simply addresses; [the system is definitely imposing](http://www.planettokyo.com/trip-planning/getting-around/the-black-art-of-finding-a-japanese-address/)). Experimentation with existing consumer mapping sites makes it seem as though geolocation often ends at the block level, so this might be sufficient for many applications.

via the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport (MLIT).

![image](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/31717/5156166/60084d8e-727c-11e4-8392-d671d316a498.png)