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After the war, Japan was forced to decentralise Tokyo again, following the general terms of democratisation outlined in the Potsdam Declaration. Many of Tokyo's special governmental characteristics disappeared during this time, and the wards took on an increasingly municipal status in the decades following the surrender.
Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture are referred to as an "urban prefecture" (府, fu). The Chinese character from which this is derived implies a core urban zone of national importance in the middle period of China, or implies a subdivision of a province in the late period of China.
The capital of Japan and its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions.
The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national jurisdictions: one "metropolis" (都; To), Tokyo; one "circuit" (道; ... Tokyo Prefecture (15 C, 1 P)
Tokyo Prefecture now encompasses 23 special wards, each a city unto itself, as well as many other cities, towns and even villages on the Japanese mainland and outlying islands. Each of the 23 special wards of Tokyo is legally equivalent to a city, though sometimes the 23 special wards as a whole are regarded as one city.
[11] [12] Tokyo Station is the central hub for the Shinkansen, the country's high-speed railway network; and the city's Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest train station. Tokyo Skytree is the world's tallest tower. [13] The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, which opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in the Asia–Pacific region. [14]
Japan is often divided into regions, each containing one or more of the country's 47 prefectures at large. Sometimes, they are referred to as "blocs" (ブロック, burokku), or "regional blocs" (地域ブロック, chiiki burokku) as opposed to more granular regional divisions.
It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the biggest metropolitan area in the world with 37.4 million people (2024). [245] Japan is an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society , [ 246 ] with the Japanese people forming 97.4% of the country's population. [ 247 ]