Japan Administrative Divisions

What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in Japan?

Japan’s administrative system is organized into several levels. The country is divided into prefectures, which are the main administrative units. Each prefecture is further subdivided into municipalities, which include cities, towns, and villages. Some large cities, known as designated cities, are further divided into wards. In rural areas, towns and villages are grouped into districts, which are administrative groupings but do not have their own governing bodies. Regions are commonly used for geographic reference but are not official administrative units.

Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:

Prefectures (都道府県): Japan is divided into prefectures, which are the main administrative units of the country.

Municipalities: Each prefecture is subdivided into municipalities, which include cities, towns, and villages.

Designated Cities and Wards: Some large cities are designated cities and are further divided into wards, which serve as administrative subdivisions within those cities.

Districts (郡): In rural areas, towns and villages are grouped into districts, which are administrative groupings but do not have their own governing bodies.

List of Japan's administrative divisions with their counts and names

These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.

isocountryadmin level 1admin level 2admin level 3admin level 4
JPJapanChubu (Region)9 Prefectures144 Cities, 4 Designated cities, 63 Districts, 7 Core cities, 9 Special cities102 Towns, 30 Wards, 50 Villages
JPJapanChugoku (Region)5 Prefectures29 Districts, 2 Designated cities, 3 Core cities, 3 Special cities, 46 Cities12 Wards, 49 Towns, 4 Villages
JPJapanHokkaido (Region)1 Prefecture1 Designated city, 2 Core cities, 32 Cities, 62 Districts10 Wards, 129 Towns, 15 Villages
JPJapanKansai (Region)7 Prefectures102 Cities, 10 Special cities, 42 Districts, 4 Designated cities, 9 Core cities15 Villages, 51 Wards, 87 Towns
JPJapanKanto (Region)7 Prefectures153 Cities, 15 Special cities, 32 Special wards, 40 Districts, 5 Designated cities, 7 Core cities15 Villages, 44 Wards, 91 Towns
JPJapanKyushu (Region)8 Prefectures109 Cities, 1 Special city, 3 Designated cities, 53 Districts, 5 Core cities118 Towns, 19 Wards, 37 Villages
JPJapanShikoku (Region)4 Prefectures26 Districts, 35 Cities, 3 Core cities50 Towns, 7 Villages
JPJapanTohoku (Region)6 Prefectures1 Designated city, 2 Special cities, 55 Districts, 5 Core cities, 69 Cities116 Towns, 34 Villages, 5 Wards

Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?

The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.

How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?

Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
systems worldwide. Our database follows a unified structure that you can integrate
seamlessly into your system or platform of choice without needing to become an expert in
each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.

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