The demographics of Japan include Japanese population, birth and death rates, age distribution, population density, ethnicity, education level, healthcare system of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects regarding the population. According to the United Nations, the population of Japan was roughly 124.9 million people, which peaked at 128.1 million people in 2010. It the 6th-most populous country in Asia, and the 11th-most populous country in the world.
Hokkaido is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
Honshu, historically called Akitsushima, is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java.
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper, two urban prefectures, one regional prefecture and one metropolis. In 1868, the Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration created the first prefectures to replace the urban and rural administrators in the parts of the country previously controlled directly by the shogunate and a few territories of rebels/shogunate loyalists who had not submitted to the new government such as Aizu/Wakamatsu. In 1871, all remaining feudal domains (han) were also transformed into prefectures, so that prefectures subdivided the whole country. In several waves of territorial consolidation, today's 47 prefectures were formed by the turn of the century. In many instances, these are contiguous with the ancient ritsuryō provinces of Japan.
Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2. Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture to the north, Nagano Prefecture to the west, Yamanashi Prefecture to the southwest, Tokyo to the south, Chiba Prefecture to the southeast, and Ibaraki Prefecture to the northeast.
The Kantō region is a geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Slightly more than 45 percent of the land area within its boundaries is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form land borders with other regions of Japan.
Chino is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 March 2019, the city had an estimated population of 55,673 in 23,236 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is 266.59 square kilometres (102.93 sq mi).
The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan as well as the prefecture of Yamanashi of the neighboring Chūbu region. In Japanese, it is referred to by various terms, one of the most common being Capital Region.
Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 May 2021, the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 328.91 square kilometres (126.99 sq mi). Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city in the prefecture, after Yokohama and Kawasaki, and the fifth most populous suburb of the Greater Tokyo Area. Its northern neighbor is Machida, with which a cross-prefectural merger has been proposed.
Samukawa is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2021, the town had an estimated population of 48,679 and a population density of 3600 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 13.42 square kilometres (5.18 sq mi).
Subprefecture of Japan are a Japanese form of self-government which focuses on local issues below the prefectural level. It acts as part of the greater administration of the state and as part of a self-government system.
The bureaucratic administration of Japan is divided into three basic levels: national, prefectural, and municipal. They are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947.
Law enforcement in Japan is provided mainly by prefectural police under the oversight of the National Police Agency. The National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission, ensuring that Japan's police are an apolitical body and free of direct central government executive control. They are checked by an independent judiciary and monitored by a free and active press.
Tsurumi-ku (鶴見区) is one of the 18 ku (wards) of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 270,433 and a density of 8,140 persons per km². The total area is 33.23 km².
Kōhoku-ku (港北区) is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of March 1, 2012, the ward had an estimated population of 332,488, with 156,198 households and a population density of 10,588.79 persons per km². The total area was 31.40 km². Kōhoku Ward has the largest population of Yokohama's 18 wards, and ranks second to Naka Ward in the total number of workplaces.
Midori-ku (緑区) is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 176,038 and a density of 6,900 persons per km2. The total area was 25.42 km2.
Minami-ku (南区) is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 197,019 and a density of 15,550 persons per km². The total area was 12.67 km².
Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2021, the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km². The total area of the city is 93.83 square kilometres (36.23 sq mi). While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United States Navy base named Naval Air Facility Atsugi, the base is actually not in Atsugi, but straddles the border between the nearby cities of Ayase and Yamato.
The Fuhanken Sanchisei was the subnational government structure in early Meiji Japan. It lasted from the Boshin War, the start to the Meiji Restoration, in 1868 until the replacement of all remaining feudal domains (-han) with prefectures (-ken) in 1871. During this period, prefectures, urban prefectures and rural prefectures, controlled by the new central government, and daimyō Domains, still under their pre-restoration feudal rulers, formed the primary administrative subdivisions of the country. The exact numbers varied continually as adjustments to the feudal territorial divisions, mergers and splits started to take up pace, but very roughly there were about >250 -han and about <50 -fu/-ken in total during this time.