Japan's Prefectures: 47 Units and Four Different Statuses
Japan has 47 prefectures, but the word "prefecture" itself is not an exact translation: 都道府県 combines four different statuses. Tokyo is the only metropolitan district (都), Hokkaido is the only circuit (道), Osaka and Kyoto are urban districts (府), and the remaining 43 regions are prefectures in the narrow sense (県). In terms of authority, today three of the four statuses are almost equal.
Let's look at where Japan's four regional statuses came from and why they are all called by the single word "prefecture" in English. We'll learn what the character 県 means and how it sounds in ordinary words. We'll explain how a prefecture is structured from the inside — from the governor down to towns and villages — and how the country's eight geographic regions, such as Kansai or Tohoku, differ from the official 47 units.
47 Prefectures — But Four Statuses
There are 47 official first-level units in Japan, and they all fall under the general term 都道府県. The word is assembled from four statuses: 都 for Tokyo, 道 for Hokkaido, 府 for Osaka and Kyoto, and 県 for the remaining 43 regions. In English, the distinction has been erased: "prefecture" equally denotes to, dō, fu, and ken.
| Status | Character | Reading | How Many | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan district | 都 | to | 1 | Tokyo |
| Circuit | 道 | dō | 1 | Hokkaido |
| Urban district | 府 | fu | 2 | Osaka, Kyoto |
| Prefecture | 県 | ken | 43 | Aomori, Nara, and others |
Why in English It's All Just "Prefecture"
The word "prefecture" came into English through the European tradition of translating Japan's administrative system, where a single term was chosen for all four statuses. In terms of authority, this hardly distorts the picture: dō, fu, and ken are now equal to each other, and the difference lies only in name and history. Tokyo is a special case: the to district takes on some of the duties that cities bear in the rest of the country — managing the 23 special wards, water supply and sewerage, and its own police organization instead of the usual prefectural department.
都道府県 by Characters: 県 Appears in 43 of 47 Names
都道府県 is read とどうふけん (todōfuken) and is made up of four characters in a row: 都, 道, 府, 県. The last one appears more often than the others — it stands at the end of the names of 43 of the 47 prefectures, which is why 県 was chosen here as the topic's language card.
県 — значение: prefecture, district (ken status) — онъёми: ケン — кунъёми: か.ける — 9 штрих(ов). 県 is read ケン (ken) and means "prefecture": this character stands at the end of the names of 43 of Japan's 47 regions — from 青森県 (Aomori) to 沖縄県 (Okinawa).
How 県 Sounds in Ordinary Words
In ordinary words, 県 is almost always read with its on'yomi reading ケン. 県庁 (けんちょう) is the "prefectural office," the administration building, and 県立 (けんりつ) means "prefectural": that's what schools and hospitals are called when they are run not by a city but by the prefecture itself. 県境 (けんきょう) is a "prefectural border," a line on the map rather than a national border.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 都道府県 | todōfuken · todōfuken | The general name for all 47 prefectures |
| 県 | ken · ken | Prefecture — the status of most regions |
| 東京都 | Tōkyō-to · Tōkyō-to | Tokyo — the only metropolitan district |
| 大阪府 | Ōsaka-fu · Ōsaka-fu | Osaka — one of the two urban districts |
| 北海道 | Hokkaidō · Hokkaidō | Hokkaido — the only dō circuit |
Write 県 along the guides — the character for "prefecture," which stands at the end of the names of 43 of the country's 47 regions.
What a Prefecture Decides and Who Leads It
Each prefecture is headed by a governor elected by the residents (知事, chiji) and an assembly of representatives (議会). The prefecture maintains its own police, is responsible for senior high schools and some hospitals, and also handles matters that go beyond a single city or town — for example, major roads and rivers. The administrative center is called 県庁所在地, but it is not necessarily the largest city in the region.
A Prefecture's Capital Is Not Always Its Largest City
Mie is an example: the prefecture's administrative center, the city of Tsu, has fewer residents than Yokkaichi — an industrial city in the north of the same prefecture. A center's historical role and its current size are different things, and Mie shows this difference more clearly than most.
One Level Down: 市町村
Within a prefecture, the country is divided into another level — cities (市), towns (町), and villages (村); together they are called 市町村. Tokyo itself is a special case: instead of a single city administration, it has 23 special wards with their own ward offices, and the usual city status works differently there than in the rest of the country.
Eight Regions Without Borders or a Governor
Besides the 47 official units, Japan is also divided into eight regions (地方): Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu. This is a convenient everyday and geographic grouping, not a level of government: none of the regions has a governor or legally fixed borders.
Why Kansai and Kanto Are Not Prefectures
Kansai and Kanto are exactly such regions, not administrative units: each brings together several prefectures around a single historical center. For Kansai, that is Osaka, Kyoto, and their surroundings; for Kanto, it is Tokyo and six neighboring prefectures. The prefecture grid itself dates back to 1871, when the old domains were replaced by new units; the modern borders took shape a little later.
FAQ
- How many prefectures are there in Japan?
- Japan has 47 prefectures: one metropolitan district, Tokyo (都), one circuit, Hokkaido (道), two urban districts, Osaka and Kyoto (府), and 43 prefectures in the narrow sense (県). Together they are called 都道府県 — a word assembled from the first character of each status.
- What does the word "prefecture" mean when applied to Japan?
- In English, "prefecture" is a simplification: in Japanese, the word actually refers to four different statuses, from metropolitan district to urban district. The difference between them today is mainly historical and is most noticeable in Tokyo, which has special powers that the other 46 regions do not have.
- How do 都, 道, 府, and 県 differ from one another?
- 府 and 県 differ only in name: by law their powers are identical. Hokkaido's 道 is effectively equal to 府 and 県. Only the to (都) — Tokyo — has a special status: it takes on some of the duties that cities bear in the rest of the country, including managing the 23 special wards and its own police organization.
- How are "Japan's prefectures" written in Japanese?
- 都道府県 (todōfuken) is the general word for all 47 first-level regions. An individual prefecture in the narrow sense, the ken status, is usually written with the character 県 at the end of the name, as in 青森県 (Aomori); Osaka and Kyoto have a different character in that spot — 府 — and Hokkaido has 道.
- Which prefecture in Japan is the largest, and which is the smallest?
- The largest by area is Hokkaido, 83,422 km² according to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan as of 2025. The smallest is Kagawa on the island of Shikoku, only 1,877 km², more than 44 times smaller than Hokkaido. Kagawa was also the last of the current forty-seven to appear on the map — in 1888, when it was finally separated from Ehime.
- Are Kanto and Kansai prefectures of Japan?
- No: both Kanto and Kansai are geographic regions (地方), not official units of the country's division. They have neither a governor nor legally fixed borders — they are simply groups of several prefectures around a single historical center. There are eight such regions in Japan in total.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-22