Map of the regions of Japan. Japan no longer officially has the traditional Federal system, and its 47 prefectures, and prefectural and municipal assembly members are popularly elected for The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national Jurisdictions one "metropolis" (都 to) Tokyo; one " circuit Certain Prefectures of Japan are now or once were divided into subprefectures. A, also known as a or, is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500000 and has been designated as such by an order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article The was most recently used as an administrative unit in Japan between 1878 and 1921 and is roughly equivalent to the County of the United States, ranking at the level below There are three basic types of municipalities in Japan: cities, towns and villages. A is a class of Japanese city created by the first clause of Article 252 Section 22 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan. of Japan are cities with populations of at least 200000 and are delegated a subset of the functions delegated to core cities. |||} A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and, with the difference that they are not a component of. The are 23 municipalities that together make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo, Japan. List of wards Chiba Chūō-ku Chiba Hanamigawa-ku Chiba Inage-ku Chiba A town (町 chō or machi) is a local administrative unit in Japan. A is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with,, and. From north to south: Hokkaidō (red), Tohoku (green), Kantō (blue), Chūbu (brown), Kansai (teal), Chūgoku (green-yellow), Shikoku (pink) and Kyūshū (yellow). WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's The is a geographical area of Japan. Tōhoku is Japanese for "northeast" and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshū The is a Geographical area of Honshū, the largest Island of Japan. The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan 's main island Honshū. The or is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest Island of Japan. is the smallest (225 km long and between 50 and 150 km wide and least populous (4141955 as of 2005 of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū or Kyushu is the third-largest Island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands.

The regions of Japan are not official administrative units, but have been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts. The article is about the geographic sense of the term For other uses including Regions and Regional, see Region (disambiguation. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. For instance, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions use their home region as part of their name (Kinki Nippon Railway, Chūgoku Bank, Tohoku University, etc. named Kinki Nippon Railway Co Ltd in English (a full translation of its Japanese name until June 27, 2003, is a Japanese rail transit corporation abbreviated to, located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is one of Japan's most prestigious national universities ). While Japan has eight High Courts, their jurisdictions do not correspond to the eight regions below.

From north to south, the traditional regions are:

• Hokkaidō (the island of Hokkaidō and nearby islands, largest city: Sapporo)
• Tōhoku region (northern Honshū, largest city: Sendai)
• Kantō region (eastern Honshū, largest cities: Tokyo and Yokohama)
• Chūbu region (central Honshū, including Mt. Fuji), sometimes divided into:
  • Hokuriku region (northwestern Chūbu, largest city: Kanazawa)
  • Kōshin'etsu region (northeastern Chūbu, largest cities: Niigata and Nagano)
  • Tōkai region (southern Chūbu, largest cities: Nagoya, Hamamatsu, and Shizuoka)
• Kansai or Kinki region (west-central Honshū, largest cities: Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto)
• Chūgoku region (western Honshū, largest cities: Hiroshima, and Okayama)
• Shikoku (island, largest cities: Matsuyama, and Takamatsu)
• Kyūshū (island, largest cities: Fukuoka and Kumamoto) which includes:
  • Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa

Each contains several prefectures, except the Hokkaidō region, which covers only Hokkaidō. WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an The is a geographical area of Japan. Tōhoku is Japanese for "northeast" and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshū or Honshu is the largest Island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku (northeast region The is a Geographical area of Honshū, the largest Island of Japan. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshū and is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area is the highest Mountain in Japan at.An Active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08 it straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and is the (subregion along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, the central region of Honshū, the main island is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. Geography climate and population Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered is a subregion of the Chūbu region in Japan consisting of Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata prefectures It is the abbreviation of the old is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. the capital city of Nagano Prefecture, is located in the northern part of the prefecture near the confluence of the Chikuma and the Sai rivers on the The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and is the largest city in the prefecture is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is a City designated by government ordinance (a "designated city" The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan 's main island Honshū. is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1 (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. The or is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest Island of Japan. The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. is the smallest (225 km long and between 50 and 150 km wide and least populous (4141955 as of 2005 of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū is located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the seat of the prefectural government or Kyushu is the third-largest Island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the Island of Kyūshū, Japan. The Ryukyu Islands, in Japanese called the (literally Southwest Islands are a chain of Japanese islands in the western Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit is one of Japan 's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1000 km long which extends southwest from Kyūshū The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national Jurisdictions one "metropolis" (都 to) Tokyo; one " circuit WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's

See also

• Ecoregions of Japan
• Prefectures of Japan
• Geography of Japan