Special wards of Tokyo
Template:Short description Template:Infobox settlement Template:Administrative divisions of Japan
The 23 Template:Nihongo of Tokyo are a unique form of municipality under Japan's 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy. Together, they cover Template:Convert and, as of 2024, house roughly 9.8 million residents, yielding a density of about Template:Convert. Similar ward systems are legally possible in other prefectures, but none have been established.
Tokyo's 23 special wards unite with 39 ordinary municipalities (cities, towns and villages)<ref>Tokyo Metropolitan Government: "Municipalities Within Tokyo" Template:Webarchive.</ref> to their west to form Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture. Without the ordinary municipalities the special wards account for what was the core Tokyo City, before this was abolished in 1943 under the Tōjō Cabinet. It was four years later, during the Occupation of Japan, that autonomy was restored to Tokyo City by means of the special wards, each being given a directly elected mayor and assembly like all other cities, towns and villages in Japan.
In Japanese the 23 are collectively also known as Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, or less formally the Template:Nihongo or just Template:Nihongo if the context makes obvious that this does not refer to the whole prefecture. Most of Tokyo's prominent infrastructures are located within the special wards. Today, all wards refer to themselves as a city in English, but the Japanese designation of Template:Nihongo remains unchanged. They are a group of 23 municipalities; there is no associated single government body separate from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which governs all 62 municipalities of Tokyo, not just the special wards.
Analogues in other countries
Analogues exist in historic and contemporary Chinese and Korean administration: "Special wards" are city-independent wards, analogously, "special cities/special cities" (teukbyeol-si/tokubetsu-shi) are province-/prefecture-independent cities and were intended to be introduced under SCAP in Japan, too; but in Japan, implementation was stalled, and in 1956 special cities were replaced in the Local Autonomy Law with designated major cities which gain additional autonomy, but remain part of prefectures. In everyday English, Tokyo as a whole is also referred to as a city even though it contains 62 cities, towns, villages and special wards. The closest English equivalents for the special wards would be the London boroughs or New York City boroughs if Greater London and New York City had been abolished in the same way as Tokyo City, making the boroughs top-level divisions of England or New York state.
Differences from other municipalities
Although special wards are autonomous from the Tokyo metropolitan government, they also function as a single urban entity in respect to certain public services, including water supply, sewage disposal, and fire services. These services are handled by the Tokyo metropolitan government, whereas cities would normally provide these services themselves. This situation is very similar to Brazil's Federal District and its 35 administrative regions, but with local elections. To finance the joint public services it provides to the 23 wards, the metropolitan government levies some of the taxes that would normally be levied by city governments, and also makes transfer payments to wards that cannot finance their own local administration.<ref name="tmg23">Template:Cite web</ref>
Waste disposal is handled by each ward under direction of the metropolitan government. For example, plastics were generally handled as non-burnable waste until the metropolitan government announced a plan to halt burying of plastic waste by 2010; as a result, about half of the special wards now treat plastics as burnable waste, while the other half mandate recycling of either all or some plastics.<ref name="nikkei0327">Template:Cite news</ref>
Unlike other municipalities (including the municipalities of western Tokyo), special wards were initially not considered to be local public entities for purposes of the Constitution of Japan. This means that they had no constitutional right to pass their own legislation, or to hold direct elections for mayors and councilors. While these authorities were granted by statute during the US-led occupation and again in 1975, they could be unilaterally revoked by the National Diet; similar measures against other municipalities would require a constitutional amendment. The denial of elected mayors to the special wards was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 1963 decision Japan v. Kobayashi et al. (also known as Tokyo Ward Autonomy Case).Template:Citation needed
In 1998, the National Diet passed a revision of the Local Autonomy Law (effective in the year 2000) that implemented the conclusions of the Final Report on the Tokyo Ward System Reform increasing their fiscal autonomy and established the wards as basic local public entities.Template:Citation needed
History
Template:More ref The word "special" distinguishes them from the Template:Nihongo of other major Japanese cities. Before 1943, the wards of Tokyo City were no different from the wards of Osaka or Kyoto. These original wards numbered 15 in 1889. Large areas from five surrounding districts were merged into the city in 1932 and organized in 20 new wards, bringing the total to 35; the expanded city was also referred to as Template:Nihongo. By this merger, together with smaller ones in 1920 and 1936, Tokyo City came to expand to the current city area.Template:Citation needed
1943–1947
On March 15, 1943, as part of wartime totalitarian tightening of controls, Tokyo's local autonomy (elected council and mayor) under the Imperial municipal code was eliminated by the Tōjō cabinet and the Tokyo city government and (Home ministry appointed) prefectural government merged into a single (appointed) prefectural government;<ref>Kurt Steiner, Local government in Japan, Stanford University Press, 1965, p. 179</ref> the wards were placed under the direct control of the prefecture.Template:Citation needed
1947–2000
The 35 wards of the former city were integrated into 22 on March 15, 1947, just before the legal definition of special wards was given by the Local Autonomy Law, enforced on May 3 the same year. The 23rd ward, Nerima, was formed on August 1, 1947, when Itabashi was split again. The postwar reorganization under the US-led occupation authorities democratized the prefectural administrations but did not include the reinstitution of Tokyo City. Seiichirō Yasui, a former Home Ministry bureaucrat and appointed governor, won the first Tokyo gubernatorial election against Daikichirō Tagawa, a former Christian Socialist member of the Imperial Diet, former vice mayor of Tokyo city and advocate of Tokyo city's local autonomy.Template:Citation needed
Since the 1970s, the special wards of Tokyo have exercised a considerably higher degree of autonomy than the administrative wards of cities (that unlike Tokyo City retained their elected mayors and assemblies) but still less than other municipalities in Tokyo or the rest of the country, making them less independent than cities, towns or villages, but more independent than city subdivisions. Today, each special ward has its own elected Template:Nihongo and Template:Nihongo.
2000–present
In 2000, the National Diet designated the special wards as Template:Nihongo, giving them a legal status similar to cities.
The wards vary greatly in area (from 10 to 60 km2) and population (from less than 40,000 to 830,000), and some are expanding as artificial islands are built. Setagaya has the most people, while neighboring Ōta has the largest area.
The total population census of the 23 special wards had fallen under 8 million as the postwar economic boom moved people out to suburbs, and then rose as Japan's lengthy stagnation took its toll and property values drastically changed, making residential inner areas up to 10 times less costly than during peak values. Its population was 8,949,447 as of October 1, 2010,<ref>2010 populationTemplate:Dead link XLS</ref> about two-thirds of the population of Tokyo and a quarter of the population of the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Mori Memorial Foundation put forth a proposal in 1999 to consolidate the 23 wards into six larger cities for efficiency purposes, and an agreement was reached between the metropolitan and special ward governments in 2006 to consider realignment of the wards, but there has been minimal further movement to change the current special ward system.<ref name="nikkei0327" />
In other prefectures
Special wards do not currently exist outside Tokyo; however, several Osaka area politicians, led by Governor Tōru Hashimoto, are backing an Osaka Metropolis plan under which the city of Osaka would be replaced by special wards, consolidating many government functions at the prefectural level and devolving other functions to more localized governments. Under a new 2012 law, – sometimes informally called "Osaka Metropolis plan law", but not specifically referring to Osaka – major cities and their surrounding municipalities in prefectures other than Tokyo may be replaced with special wards with similar functions if approved by the involved municipal and prefectural governments and ultimately the citizens of the dissolving municipalities in a referendum. Prerequisite is a population of at least 2 million in the dissolving municipalities; three cities (Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka) meet this requirement on their own, seven other major city areas can set up special wards if a designated city is joined by neighboring municipalities.<ref>Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: 大都市地域における特別区の設置に関する法律（平成24年法律第80号）概要 Template:Webarchive, pp. 1–3; Full text Template:Webarchive in the e-gov legal database</ref> However, Template:Nihongo where special wards are set up cannot style themselves Template:Nihongo as the Local Autonomy Law only allows Tokyo with that status.<ref>CLAIR (Jichitai Kokusaika Kyōkai), Japan Local Government Centre, London, August 31, 2012: New law for Japanese megacities Template:Webarchive</ref> In Osaka, a 2015 referendum to replace the city with five special wards was defeated narrowly.
| Level | Executive | Executive leadership | Legislature |
|---|---|---|---|
| State/nation (kuni, Template:Lang) Unitary state, local autonomy anchored in the Constitution |
Central/Japanese national government (chūō-/Nihonkoku-seifu, Template:Lang/Template:Lang) |
Cabinet/Prime Minister (naikaku/naikaku sōri-daijin, Template:Lang/Template:Lang) indirectly elected by the Diet from the Diet |
National Diet (Kokkai, Template:Lang) bicameral, both houses directly elected |
| Prefectures ("Metropolis, prefecture, prefectures and prefectures")<ref>GSI: Toponymic guidelines for Map Editors and other Editors, JAPAN (Third Edition 2007) in English, 5. Administrative divisions Template:Webarchive</ref> (to/dō/fu/ken, Template:Lang) 47 contiguous subdivisions of the nation |
Prefectural/"Metropolitan" government (to-/dō-/fu-/kenchō, Template:Lang) local autonomy and delegated functions from national level |
Prefectural/"Metropolitan" governor (to-/dō-/fu-/ken-chiji, Template:Lang) directly elected |
Prefectural/"Metropolitan" assembly (to-/dō-/fu-/ken-gikai, Template:Lang) unicameral, directly elected |
| [Subprefectures] (various names) Sub-prefectural administrative divisions of some prefectures, contiguous in some prefectures, only partial for some areas in others in Tokyo: 4 subprefectures for remote islands |
Branch office (shichō, 支庁 and other various names) (Subordinate branch offices of the prefectural government, delegated prefectural functions) | ||
| Municipalities (Cities, [special] wards/"cities", towns and villages) (shi/[tokubetsu-]ku/chō [=machi]/son [=mura], Template:Lang) (as of 2016: 1,741) contiguous subdivisions of all 47 prefectures in Tokyo often named in the order: -ku/-shi/-chō/-son, Template:Lang in Tokyo as of 2001: 62 municipalities (23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns, 8 villages) |
Municipal government (city/ward/town/village hall) (shi-/ku-yakusho, Template:Lang/Template:Lang/machi-/mura-yakuba, Template:Lang/Template:Lang) local autonomy and delegated functions from national & prefectural level post-occupation–2000: only shi/chō/son with municipal autonomy rights, ku with delegated authority |
Municipal (city/ward/town/village) mayor (shi-/ku-/chō-/sonchō, Template:Lang) directly elected in Tokyo's special wards: indirectly elected 1952–1975 |
Municipal (city/ward/town/village) assembly (shi-/ku-/chō-/son-gikai, Template:Lang) unicameral, directly elected |
| [Wards, sometimes unambiguously "administrative wards"] ([gyōsei-]ku, [[[:Template:Lang]]]Template:Lang) Contiguous sub-municipal administrative divisions of designated major cities |
Ward office (kuyakusho, Template:Lang) (Subordinate branch offices of the city government, delegated municipal functions) | ||
List of special wards
Notable districts
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Many important districts are located in Tokyo's special wards:
- Akasaka
- A district with a range of restaurants, clubs, and hotels;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> many pedestrian alleys give it a local neighborhood feel. It is next to Roppongi, Nagatachō, and Aoyama.
- Akihabara
- A densely arranged shopping district popular for electronics, anime culture, amusement arcades, and otaku goods.<ref>"The best places for shopping in Tokyo" Template:Webarchive, Meet The Cities</ref>
- Aoyama
- A neighborhood of Tokyo adjacent to Omotesando with parks, trendy cafes, and international restaurants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Asakusa
- A cultural center of Tokyo, famous for the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, and several traditional shopping streets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For most of the twentieth century, Asakusa was the main entertainment district in Tokyo, with large theaters, cinemas, an amusement park and a red light district. The area was heavily damaged by US bombing raids during World War II,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has now been rivaled by newer districts in the west of the city as entertainment and commercial centers.Template:Clarification needed
- Ginza and Yūrakuchō
- Major shopping and entertainment district with historic department stores, upscale shops selling brand-name goods, and movie theaters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This area is part of the original city center in the wards of Chuo and Chiyoda (as opposed to the new centers in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya).Template:Citation needed
- Harajuku
- Known internationally for its role in Japanese street fashion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ikebukuro
- The busiest interchange in north central Tokyo, featuring Sunshine City and various shopping destinations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Jinbōchō
- Often referred to as "Book Town," Tokyo's center of used-book stores and publishing houses, and a popular antique and curio shopping area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Kasumigaseki
- Home to most of the executive offices of the national government, as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Marunouchi and Ōtemachi
- As one of the main financial and business districts of Tokyo, Marunouchi includes the headquarters of many banks, trading companies, and other major corporations. The area is seeing a major redevelopment in the near future with plans for new buildings and skyscrapers for shopping and entertainment constructed on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station.Template:Needs update This area is part of the original city center in the wards of Chuo and Chiyoda (as opposed to the new centers in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya).Template:Citation needed
- Nagatachō
- The political heart of Tokyo and the nation. It is the location of the National Diet (parliament), government ministries, and party headquarters.Template:Cn
- Odaiba
- A large, reclaimed, waterfront area that has become one of Tokyo's most popular shopping and entertainment districts. It resides on a man-made island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Omotesandō
- Known for upscale shopping, fashion, and design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Roppongi
- Home to the rich Roppongi Hills area, Mori Tower, an active night club scene, and a relatively large presence of Western tourists and expatriates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ryōgoku
- The heart of the sumo world. Home to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan and many sumo stables.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Shibuya
- A long-time center of shopping, fashion, nightlife, and youth culture. Shibuya is a famous and popular location for photographers and tourists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Shinagawa
- In addition to the major hotels on the west side of Shinagawa Station, the former "sleepy east side of the station" has been redeveloped as a major center for business.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shinagawa station is in Minato-ku, not in Shinagawa-ku.
- Shinbashi
- A traditional Shitamachi district. Revitalization of it being the gateway to Odaiba and the Shiodome Shiosite complex of high-rise buildings began in 2016, and was completed in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Shinjuku
- Location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and a major secondary center of Tokyo (fukutoshin), as opposed to the original center in Marunouchi and Ginza. The area is known for its concentration of skyscrapers and shopping areas. Major department stores, electronics stores and hotels are located here. On the east side of Shinjuku Station, Kabukichō is known for its many bars and nightclubs. Shinjuku Station moves an estimated three million passengers a day, which makes it the busiest rail station in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ueno
- Ueno is known for its parks, department stores, and large concentration of cultural institutions. Ueno Zoo and Ueno Park are located here. Ueno Station is a major transportation hub serving commuters to and from areas north and east of Tokyo. In the spring, the area is a popular locale to view cherry blossoms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Administrative division
- Capital of Japan
- List of cities in Japan
- Special cities of Japan
- Urban area
- Wards of Japan
References
Further reading
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web - From The Changing Face of Tokyo: From Edo to Today, and into the Future. March 27, 2020.
External links
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government explanation of special wards
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government statistics Template:In lang
- Association of special ward mayors (tokubetsu-kuchōkai) Template:In lang
- Association of special ward assembly presidents (tokubetsu-kugikai gichōkai) Template:In lang
Template:Metropolitan cities of Japan Template:Tokyo Template:Authority control