Prefectures Maps of Japan

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Japan is a unitary nation. The primary government delegates multiple functions (such as education, health care, transport system, police force) to the prefectures and municipalities but maintains the overall right to control them. 

Japan is split into 47 prefectures, making the nation’s first level of administrative and jurisdiction division. They include 43 usual prefectures, two urban prefectures (Osaka and Kyoto), one “territory” (Hokkaido), and one “metropolis” (Tokyo). The first prefectures were formed in 1868 to substitute the urban and rural administrators in the country’s parts before managed directly by the shogunate. In many waves of territorial consolidation, currents 47 prefectures were created by the turn of the century. 

The map below shows Japanese prefecture names translated to English.

Every prefecture’s chief administrator is a directly-elected governor. Laws and budgets are established by a unicameral assembly whose members are chosen for four-year terms.

Quick facts about Japan’s prefectures

Largest prefecture – Hokkaido
Smallest prefecture – Kagawa
Prefecture with the highest population density – Tokyo
Prefecture with the smallest population – Tottori
Poorest prefecture – Okinawa
Prefecture with the most islands – Nagasaki
Prefectures with both Pacific and Japan Sea coasts – Aomori, Hokkaido, Hyogo, and Yamaguchi
Prefecture with the most cows – Hokkaido
Prefecture with the most extensive rice yield – Niigata
Prefecture with the most dogs – Aichi

List of Japanese prefectures

Prefecture	Translated	Capital	Region	Island	Population1	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
Aichi	Loving Knowledge	Nagoya	Chūbu	Honshū	7,483,128	5,172.48	1,446.72
Akita	Autumn Field	Akita	Tōhoku	Honshū	1,023,119	11,637.54	87.92
Aomori	Blue Forest	Aomori	Tōhoku	Honshū	1,308,265	9,645.59	135.63
Chiba	Thousand Leaves	Chiba	Kantō	Honshū	6,222,666	5,157.65	1,206.49
Ehime	Beloved Princess	Matsuyama	Shikoku	Shikoku	1,385,262	5,676.11	244.05
Fukui	Prosperity Well	Fukui	Chūbu	Honshū	786,740	4,190.49	187.74
Fukuoka	Prosperity Hill	Fukuoka	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	5,101,556	4,986.40	1,023.09
Fukushima	Prosperity Island	Fukushima	Tōhoku	Honshū	1,914,039	13,783.74	138.86
Gifu	Qifu	Gifu	Chūbu	Honshū	2,031,903	10,621.29	191.3
Gumma	Herd Horse	Maebashi	Kantō	Honshū	1,973,115	6,362.28	310.13
Hiroshima	Wide Island	Hiroshima	Chūgoku	Honshū	2,843,990	8,479.45	335.4
Hokkaido	North Sea Circuit	Sapporo	Hokkaidō	Hokkaidō	5,381,733	83,424.31	64.51
Hyogo	Soldier Warehouse	Kobe	Kansai	Honshū	5,534,800	8,400.96	658.83
Ibaraki	Thorn Castle	Mito	Kantō	Honshū	2,916,976	6,097.06	478.42
Ishikawa	Stone River	Kanazawa	Chūbu	Honshū	1,154,008	4,186.09	275.68
Iwate	Boulder Hand	Morioka	Tōhoku	Honshū	1,279,594	15,275.01	83.77
Kagawa	Fragrant River	Takamatsu	Shikoku	Shikoku	976,263	1,876.72	520.2
Kagoshima	Deer Child Island	Kagoshima	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	1,648,177	9,186.94	179.4
Kanagawa	River of spirit	Yokohama	Kantō	Honshū	9,126,214	2,415.83	3,777.67
Kochi	High Knowledge	Kōchi	Shikoku	Shikoku	728,276	7,103.93	102.52
Kumamoto	Bear Source	Kumamoto	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	1,786,170	7,409.35	241.07
Kyoto	Capital CIty	Kyoto	Kansai	Honshū	2,610,353	4,612.19	565.97
Mie	Three Layers	Tsu	Kansai	Honshū	1,815,865	5,774.40	314.47
Miyagi	Shrine Castle	Sendai	Tōhoku	Honshū	2,333,899	7,282.22	320.49
Miyazaki	Shrine Point	Miyazaki	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	1,104,069	7,735.31	142.73
Nagano	Long Plain	Nagano	Chūbu	Honshū	2,098,804	13,561.56	154.76
Nagasaki	Long Point	Nagasaki	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	1,377,187	4,132.09	333.29
Nara	The Flat	Nara	Kansai	Honshū	1,364,316	3,690.94	369.64
Niigata	New Lagoon	Niigata	Chūbu	Honshū	2,304,264	12,584.10	183.11
Oita	Great Part	Oita	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	1,166,338	6,340.71	183.94
Okayama	Hill Mountain	Okayama	Chūgoku	Honshū	1,921,525	7,114.50	270.09
Okinawa	Deepwater Net	Naha	Kyūshū	Ryūkyū	1,433,566	2,281.12	628.45
Osaka	Great Hill	Osaka	Kansai	Honshū	8,839,469	1,905.14	4,639.80
Saga	Reverse	Saga	Kyūshū	Kyūshū	832,832	2,440.68	341.23
Saitama	Cape Ball	Saitama	Kantō	Honshū	7,266,534	3,797.75	1,913.38
Shiga	Rocky Place	Ōtsu	Kansai	Honshū	1,412,916	4,017.38	351.7
Shimane	Island Root	Matsue	Chūgoku	Honshū	694,352	6,708.24	103.51
Shizuoka	Quiet Hill	Shizuoka	Chūbu	Honshū	3,700,305	7,777.42	475.78
Tochigi	Chestnut Tree	Utsunomiya	Kantō	Honshū	1,974,255	6,408.09	308.09
Tokushima	Virtue Island	Tokushima	Shikoku	Shikoku	755,733	4,146.65	182.25
Tokyo	Eastern Capital	Tokyo	Kantō	Honshū	13,515,271	2,190.93	6,168.74
Tottori	Bird Catching	Tottori	Chūgoku	Honshū	573,441	3,507.05	163.51
Toyama	Wealth Mountain	Toyama	Chūbu	Honshū	1,066,328	4,247.61	251.04
Wakayama	Moutain of Japanese Poetry	Wakayama	Kansai	Honshū	963,579	4,724.69	203.95
Yamagata	Mountain Shape	Yamagata	Tōhoku	Honshū	1,123,891	9,323.15	120.55
Yamaguchi	Mountain Entrance	Yamaguchi	Chūgoku	Honshū	1,404,729	6,112.30	229.82
Yamanashi	Mountain Pear	Kōfu	Chūbu	Honshū	834,930	4,465.27	186.98