Prefecture in Japan
Prefecture (Jap. 県 ken) – the basic administrative unit of Japan.
🇯🇵 Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, which play a role similar to:
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Polish voivodeships,
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German federal states (Bundesländer),
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American states,
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French regions (régions),
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Italian regions (regioni),
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Dutch provinces (provincies).
Types of prefectures in Japan
1. Metropolis – Tōkyō-to (東京都)
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“To” (都) means capital/metropolis.
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Status granted in 1943, when the city of Tokyo and Tokyo Prefecture were merged.
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Tokyo is not an ordinary city or prefecture – it is a Metropolitan Prefecture.
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It has a special legal status and broader competences (e.g. divided into 23 special wards – ku 区).
2. Dō – Hokkaidō (北海道)
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“Dō” (道) literally means road/region.
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Hokkaidō (北 – north, 海 – sea, 道 – road) = “Northern Sea Region”.
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Historically treated as a colonial frontier (integrated into Japan only in the 19th century).
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Formally a prefecture, but the name “dō” was preserved for historical reasons.
3. Fu – Osaka-fu (大阪府) and Kyoto-fu (京都府)
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“Fu” (府) originally meant urban prefecture or government seat.
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This status was given to Osaka and Kyoto, as the most important historical cities:
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Kyoto – the former imperial capital,
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Osaka – the commercial and financial hub.
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Until 1943 Tokyo also had “fu” status (Tokyo-fu), but was later transformed into “to”.
4. Ken (県) – 43 ordinary prefectures
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“Ken” simply means prefecture.
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They make up the majority (43 out of 47).
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Equivalent to provinces or regions – e.g. Tochigi-ken 栃木県, home to Nikkō.
Why four types exist
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This is the result of the Meiji reforms (around 1868–1871), when old provinces (kuni 国) were abolished and replaced by the prefectural system.
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Some places were given special names for prestige or historical reasons:
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Tokyo → “to” (metropolis),
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Hokkaidō → “dō” (newly colonized region),
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Kyoto & Osaka → “fu” (historic capitals),
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the rest → ordinary “ken”.
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Today all 47 prefectures are equal administrative units; the difference lies only in the naming.
All prefectures of Japan with their capitals
Each prefecture has its own administrative capital.
📌 Listed from the largest by area to the smallest:
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Hokkaidō (北海道) – Sapporo
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Iwate (岩手県) – Morioka
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Fukushima (福島県) – Fukushima
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Nagano (長野県) – Nagano
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Niigata (新潟県) – Niigata
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Akita (秋田県) – Akita
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Gifu (岐阜県) – Gifu
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Aomori (青森県) – Aomori
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Shizuoka (静岡県) – Shizuoka
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Hyōgo (兵庫県) – Kobe
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Kagoshima (鹿児島県) – Kagoshima
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Okayama (岡山県) – Okayama
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Miyazaki (宮崎県) – Miyazaki
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Kumamoto (熊本県) – Kumamoto
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Tochigi (栃木県) – Utsunomiya
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Gunma (群馬県) – Maebashi
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Hiroshima (広島県) – Hiroshima
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Ehime (愛媛県) – Matsuyama
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Okinawa (沖縄県) – Naha
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Kōchi (高知県) – Kōchi
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Yamagata (山形県) – Yamagata
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Fukuoka (福岡県) – Fukuoka
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Mie (三重県) – Tsu
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Shiga (滋賀県) – Ōtsu
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Aichi (愛知県) – Nagoya
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Nara (奈良県) – Nara
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Ishikawa (石川県) – Kanazawa
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Wakayama (和歌山県) – Wakayama
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Tokushima (徳島県) – Tokushima
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Tottori (鳥取県) – Tottori
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Shimane (島根県) – Matsue
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Yamaguchi (山口県) – Yamaguchi
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Kagawa (香川県) – Takamatsu
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Toyama (富山県) – Toyama
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Fukui (福井県) – Fukui
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Yamanashi (山梨県) – Kōfu
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Saitama (埼玉県) – Saitama
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Chiba (千葉県) – Chiba
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Kanagawa (神奈川県) – Yokohama
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Kyōto (京都府) – Kyoto
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Ōsaka (大阪府) – Osaka
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Tōkyō (東京都) – Tokyo
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Saga (佐賀県) – Saga
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Ōita (大分県) – Ōita
Japan, Poland, and Austria – comparison
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Area of Japan: about 378,000 km²
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Area of Poland: about 312,000 km²
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Area of Austria: about 83,900 km²
➡ Japan is about 1.2 times larger than Poland and 4.5 times larger than Austria.
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Population of Japan (2025): about 124 million
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Population of Poland (2025): about 37 million
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Population of Austria (2025): about 9 million
➡ Japan has over 3 times more inhabitants than Poland and almost 14 times more than Austria.