Greater Tokyo Area

The **Greater Tokyo Area** is a lairge metropolitan area in Kantō region, Japan (includin Tokyo Metropolis an the prefecturs o Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi an Gunma) as well as the prefectur o Yamanashi o the neehbourin Chūbu region. In Japanese, it is referred tae bi various terms, includin the , , , an ithers.

A 2016 Unitit Naitions estimate puts the tot population at 38,140,000 makkin it the warld's maist populous metropolitan area. It kivers an area o thareby 13,500 km² (5,200&nbsp;mi²), givin it a population density o 2,642 person/km² - whilk is some mair nor twice the population density o Bangladesh. It is the seicont lairgest single metropolitan area in the warld in terms o biggit-up or urban function landmass at 7,800&nbsp;km² (3,000&nbsp;mi²). Anerlie the New York metropolitan area, at 17,405&nbsp;km², is lairger.

This area haes the lairgest metropolitan economy in the warld. Ane Metropolis, Three Prefecturs, ane o the definitions o the Greater Tokyo Area, haed a tot GDP (nominal) o approximately US$1.9 trillion (165 trillion Yen) in 2008. Accordin tae research published bi PricewaterhouseCoopers, the agglomeration o Tokyo haed a tot GDP o US$1.479 trillion in 2008 (at purchasin pouer parity), rankin again as the lairgest urban agglomeration GDP in the warld.

## Definition

Thare are various different definitions o the Greater Tokyo Area.  Ilka airt haes a different population figure an ettles at incorporatin different aspects.

### Various definitions o Tokyo/Kantō

### Internaitional Comparison
*Ane Metropolis 3 Prefecturs* definition, the tot size is *smawer* than Los Angeles Coonty, an amaist a third smawer at 13,555.65 &nbsp;km² than the Combined Statistical Area o New York, at 30,671&nbsp;km². an 21.9 million fowk.

### Metropolitan Area definition ambiguities an issues
*The  is a potentially ambiguous term. Informally, it mey mean the Ane Metropolis, Three Prefecturs, or the area athoot Saitama Prefectur. Formally, it mey mean the Sooth Kantō Block, whilk isna the Greater Tokyo Area, but a proportional representation block o the naitional election, comprisin Kanagawa, Chiba, an Yamanashi Prefecturs.
*In informal occasions, the term  aften means Greater Tokyo Area. Offeecially, the term refers tae a hintle lairger area, namely the hale Kantō region an Yamanashi Prefecture.
* It should be notit that Tokyo as a metropolis includes some 394&nbsp;km o islands (Izu Islands an Ogasawara Islands), as weel as some muntainous areas tae the far wast, whilk isna pairt o Greater Tokyo, but hae comparatively vera smaw population.

## Ceeties

(populations leetit for those ower 300,000)

### Ceeties athin Tokyo
Tokyo is legally classifee'd as a , a wird whilk is translate as "metropolis," an is treatit as ane o the fowerty-seiven prefecturs o Japan. It isna admeenistered as a single ceety.

#### Eastern Tokyo Metropolis

Central Tokyo, situatit in the eastren portion o Tokyo Metropolis, wis ance incorporatit as Tokyo Ceety, whilk wis dismantled durin Warld War II. Its subdiveesions hae been reclassifee'd as . The twinty three special wairds currently hae the legal status o ceeties, wi individual mayors an ceety cooncils, an is cried "ceeties" in Scots. Housomeivver, whan leetin Japan's lairgest ceeties, Tokyo's twinty three wairds are aften coontit as ane ceety.  *See: [[Special wairds o Tokyo]]*

#### Wastren Tokyo Metropolis

Wastren Tokyo, kent as the Tama Area (*Tama-chiiki* 多摩地域) comprises a nummer o municipalities, includin thir suburban ceeties:

### Ceeties ootside Tokyo

The core ceeties o the Greater Tokyo Area ootside Tokyo Metropolis are:

*Chiba (population 940,000)
*Kawasaki (population 1.36 million)
*Saitama (population 1.19 million)
*Yokohama (population 3.62 million)

The ither ceeties in Chiba, Kanagawa an Saitama Prefecturs are:

soorce: stat.go.jp census 2005

### Addeetional ceeties
In the major metropolitan area (MMA) definition uised bi the Japanese Statistics Bureau, the follaein ceeties in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Yamanashi, an Shizuoka Prefecturs are includit:

#### Gunma Prefectur
*Tatebayashi

#### Ibaraki Prefectur

#### Shizuoka Prefectur
*Atami

#### Tochigi Prefectur
*Oyama

#### Yamanashi Prefectur
*Ōtsuki
*Uenohara

#### Border areas
Tichter definitions for Greater Tokyo dinna include adjacent metropolitan areas o Numazu-Mishima (thareby 450,000) southwastlins, Maebashi-Takasaki-Ōta-Ashikaga (thareby 1,500,000 fowk) norwastlins, an Greater Utsunomiya (:ja:宇都宮都市圏) approx. 1,000,000) norlins.  Gif thay are included, Greater Tokyo's population wad be aroond 39 million.

## Geografie

At the centre o the main urban area (approximately the first 10&nbsp;km frae Tokyo Station) are the 23 special wards, umwhile treatit as a single ceety but nou govrened as separate municipalities, an containin mony major commercial centres sic as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro an Ginza. Aroond the 23 special wards are a multitude o suburban ceeties whilk merge seamlessly intae ilkanither tae form a continuous biggit up area, circumnavigatit bi the hivy-traivelt Route 16 whilk forms a (broken) luip aboot 40&nbsp;km frae central Tokyo. Situatit alang the luip are the major ceeties o Yokohama (tae the sooth o Tokyo), Hachiōji (tae the wast), Ōmiya (nou pairt o Saitama Ceety, tae the north), an Chiba (tae the east). Athin the Route 16 luip, the coastline o Tokyo Bay is hivily industrialised, wi the Keihin Industrial Area stretchin frae Tokyo doun tae Yokohama, an the Keiyō Industrial Area frae Tokyo eastwart tae Chiba. Alang the periphery o the main urban area are hantle new suburban hoosin developments lik the Tama New Town. The landscape is relatively flat compared tae maist o Japan, maist o it comprisin law braes.

Ootwi the Route 16 luip the landscape becomes mair landwart. Tae the soothwast is an area kent as Shōnan comprisin various ceeties an touns alang the coast o Sagami Bay, wi thair lang beaches comprisin black volcanic saund, an tae the wast the area is muntainous.

Mony rivers rin throu the area, the major anes bein Arakawa an Tama River.

## Economy

Tokyo haes the lairgest ceety economy in the warld an ane o three command centres alang wi New York Ceety an Lunnon.

### Greater Tokyo Area 2005

*2005 average exchynge rate (1 US Dollar = 110.22 Yen)

Source 

### GDP (purchasin pouer parity) 2005

The agglomeration o Tokyo is the warld's lairgest economy, wi the lairgest gross metropolitan product at purchasin pouer parity (PPP) in the warld in 2005 accordin tae a study bi PricewaterhouseCoopers.

## Transportation

### Air
The Greater Tokyo Area haes twa major airports, Tokyo International Airport, commonly kent as Haneda Airport (chiefly domestic) an Narita International Airport (chiefly internaitional). Minor facilities include the Chōfu an Honda Airport. Tokyo Heliport serves helicopter traffeck, includin polis, fire, an news. Various military facilities haundle air traffeck: Naval Air Facility Atsugi (Unitit States Navy an Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force), Hyakuri Airfield (Japan Air Sel-Defense Force), Yokota Air Base (Unitit States Air Force), an Camp Zama (Unitit States Airmy). Hyakuri is bein developit for ceevil aviation wi plans for service that begin in Mairch 2010; it is cried Ibaraki Airport.

### Rail
Greater Tokyo haes an extensive railway netwirk comprisin heich-speed rail, commuter rails, subways, monorails, private lines, trams an ithers. Thare aroond 136 individual rail lines in the Greater Tokyo Area, an atween 1,000 tae 1,200 railway stations dependin on ane's definition o the area, maist designed for hivy uise, uisually lang eneuch tae accommodate 10-caur trains. Major stations are designed tae accommodate hunders o thoosans o passengers at ony speceefic time, wi miles o connectin tunnels linkin vast department stores an corporate offices. Tokyo Station haes unnerground connections that streik weel ower 4 kilometer, an Shinjuku Station haes weel ower 200 exits. Greater Tokyo's Railway Network is easy considered the warld's lairgest in terms o baith daily passenger throughput wi a daily trips o ower 40 million (20 million different passengers) as weel as physical extent wi approximately 2,578 kilometer o track. Some 57 percent o aw Greater Tokyo residents uised rail as thair primary means o transport in 2001.

JR East an mony ither carriers crisscross the region wi a network o rail lines. (See this map  showin the Suica/PASMO acceptin area that roughly corresponds wi Greater Tokyo). The maist important carriers include Keihin Kyūkō Electric Railway (*Keikyū*), Keisei Electric Railway, Keiō Electric Railway, Odakyū Electric Railway, Seibu Railway, Tōbu Railway, an Tōkyū Corporation. In addition tae Tokyo's twa subway seestems &mdash; Tokyo Metro an Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (*[[Toei Subway|Toei]]* an *[[Tokyo Toden|Toden]]* lines), Yokohama operates three lines. The Tokyo Monorail provides service tae Haneda Airport an ither destinations.

### Ither
The Shuto Expressway seestem connects ither naitional expressways in the caipital region.

Tokyo an Yokohama are major commercial seaports, an baith the Maritime Self-Defense Force an Unitit States Navy mainteen naval bases at Yokosuka.

## References

## Freemit airtins
*Urban Employment Areas in Japan  (2000)