This is a list of metropolitan areas (都市圏, toshiken) in Japan by population as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) and the Center for Spatial Information Service of the University of Tokyo. The region containing most of the people in Japan between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often called the Taiheiyō Belt.
The Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) defines a metropolitan area as one or more central cities and its associated outlying municipalities. To qualify as an outlying municipality, the municipality must have at least 1.5% of its resident population aged 15 and above commuting to school or work into one of the central cities. To qualify as a central city, a city must either be a designated city of any population or a non-designated city with a city proper population of at least 500,000. Metropolitan areas of designated cities are defined as "major metropolitan areas" (大都市圏) while those of non-designated cities are simply "metropolitan areas" (都市圏). If multiple central cities are close enough such that their outlying cities overlap, they are combined and a single metropolitan area is defined rather than independently.
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
Changes from 2005 census
The following changes to metropolitan area definitions were made in the 2010 Census report. [3]
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 8 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo.
The Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo has defined 100 metropolitan employment areas (MEAs) and 122 micropolitan employment areas (McEAs) for Japan. [5]
Rank | Metropolitan area | Prefecture | Central city | Population |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo MEA | Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi | Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi | 35,303,778 |
2 | Osaka MEA | Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama | Osaka, Sakai, Kadoma, Higashiōsaka | 12,078,820 |
3 | Nagoya MEA | Gifu, Aichi, Mie | Nagoya, Handa, Kariya, Anjō, Komaki, Tōkai | 6,871,632 |
4 | Kyoto MEA | Shiga, Kyoto | Kyoto, Kusatsu | 2,801,044 |
5 | Fukuoka MEA | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 2,565,501 |
6 | Kobe MEA | Hyōgo | Kobe | 2,419,973 |
7 | Sapporo MEA | Ishikari and Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaido | Sapporo, Otaru | 2,362,914 |
8 | Sendai MEA | Miyagi | Sendai | 1,612,499 |
9 | Okayama MEA | Okayama | Okayama | 1,526,503 |
10 | Hiroshima MEA | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,431,634 |
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan.
Metropolitan area | Prefecture | Central city | Area (km2) |
GDP (bn. JPY) |
Population | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 2005 | 1995 | 1980 | 1965 | |||||
Tokyo MEA | Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi | Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi | 10,404 | 157,820 | 34,834,167 | 33,652,998 | 31,707,138 | 27,853,640 | 20,156,066 |
Osaka MEA | Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara, Wakayama | Osaka, Sakai, Higashiōsaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi | 4,291 | 45,362 | 12,273,041 | 12,208,161 | 12,039,181 | 11,365,385 | 8,721,257 |
Nagoya MEA | Gifu, Aichi, Mie | Nagoya, Komaki | 2,792 | 22,497 | 5,490,453 | 5,385,383 | 5,151,367 | 4,713,287 | 3,708,670 |
Kyoto MEA | Shiga, Kyoto | Kyoto | 2,836 | 10,117 | 2,679,094 | 2,653,421 | 2,582,733 | 2,395,626 | 1,897,517 |
Fukuoka MEA | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,283 | 8,922 | 2,495,552 | 2,409,904 | 2,196,463 | 1,768,587 | 1,165,151 |
Kobe MEA | Hyōgo | Kobe | 1,245 | 8,427 | 2,431,076 | 2,417,914 | 2,309,076 | 2,130,237 | 1,697,644 |
Sapporo MEA | Ishikari Subprefecture, Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaido | Sapporo, Otaru | 3,205 | 7,438 | 2,341,599 | 2,325,653 | 2,198,255 | 1,798,624 | 1,151,946 |
Sendai MEA | Miyagi | Sendai | 2,077 | 5,414 | 1,574,942 | 1,549,746 | 1,466,989 | 1,202,186 | 850,828 |
Okayama MEA | Okayama | Okayama | 2,710 | 5,539 | 1,532,146 | 1,523,286 | 1,486,785 | 1,391,802 | 1,112,534 |
Maebashi MEA | Gunma | Maebashi, Takasaki, Isesaki | 2,653 | 5,252 | 1,453,528 | 1,459,895 | 1,439,840 | 1,327,539 | 1,142,579 |
Hiroshima MEA | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,811 | 5,414 | 1,411,848 | 1,395,530 | 1,358,060 | 1,197,465 | 838,010 |
Kitakyushu MEA | Fukuoka | Kitakyushu | 1,222 | 4,889 | 1,370,169 | 1,392,145 | 1,429,463 | 1,459,479 | 1,397,618 |
Hamamatsu MEA | Shizuoka | Hamamatsu | 2,051 | 4,763 | 1,133,879 | 1,139,189 | 1,086,360 | 972,356 | 818,902 |
Utsunomiya MEA | Tochigi | Utsunomiya | 3,851 | 4,454 | 1,120,057 | 1,121,696 | 1,093,966 | 973,728 | 817,786 |
Kumamoto MEA | Kumamoto | Kumamoto | 1,604 | 3,490 | 1,102,398 | 1,089,366 | 1,053,231 | 924,422 | 795,803 |
Niigata MEA | Niigata | Niigata | 2,138 | 3,805 | 1,071,152 | 1,082,159 | 1,073,394 | 1,002,106 | 875,150 |
Shizuoka MEA | Shizuoka | Shizuoka | 1,677 | 4,024 | 1,001,597 | 1,008,368 | 1,016,145 | 966,153 | 808,584 |
This is a list of metropolitan areas (都市圏, toshiken) in Japan by population as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) and the Center for Spatial Information Service of the University of Tokyo. The region containing most of the people in Japan between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often called the Taiheiyō Belt.
The Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) defines a metropolitan area as one or more central cities and its associated outlying municipalities. To qualify as an outlying municipality, the municipality must have at least 1.5% of its resident population aged 15 and above commuting to school or work into one of the central cities. To qualify as a central city, a city must either be a designated city of any population or a non-designated city with a city proper population of at least 500,000. Metropolitan areas of designated cities are defined as "major metropolitan areas" (大都市圏) while those of non-designated cities are simply "metropolitan areas" (都市圏). If multiple central cities are close enough such that their outlying cities overlap, they are combined and a single metropolitan area is defined rather than independently.
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
Changes from 2005 census
The following changes to metropolitan area definitions were made in the 2010 Census report. [3]
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 8 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo.
The Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo has defined 100 metropolitan employment areas (MEAs) and 122 micropolitan employment areas (McEAs) for Japan. [5]
Rank | Metropolitan area | Prefecture | Central city | Population |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo MEA | Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi | Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi | 35,303,778 |
2 | Osaka MEA | Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama | Osaka, Sakai, Kadoma, Higashiōsaka | 12,078,820 |
3 | Nagoya MEA | Gifu, Aichi, Mie | Nagoya, Handa, Kariya, Anjō, Komaki, Tōkai | 6,871,632 |
4 | Kyoto MEA | Shiga, Kyoto | Kyoto, Kusatsu | 2,801,044 |
5 | Fukuoka MEA | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 2,565,501 |
6 | Kobe MEA | Hyōgo | Kobe | 2,419,973 |
7 | Sapporo MEA | Ishikari and Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaido | Sapporo, Otaru | 2,362,914 |
8 | Sendai MEA | Miyagi | Sendai | 1,612,499 |
9 | Okayama MEA | Okayama | Okayama | 1,526,503 |
10 | Hiroshima MEA | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,431,634 |
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan.
Metropolitan area | Prefecture | Central city | Area (km2) |
GDP (bn. JPY) |
Population | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 2005 | 1995 | 1980 | 1965 | |||||
Tokyo MEA | Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi | Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi | 10,404 | 157,820 | 34,834,167 | 33,652,998 | 31,707,138 | 27,853,640 | 20,156,066 |
Osaka MEA | Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara, Wakayama | Osaka, Sakai, Higashiōsaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi | 4,291 | 45,362 | 12,273,041 | 12,208,161 | 12,039,181 | 11,365,385 | 8,721,257 |
Nagoya MEA | Gifu, Aichi, Mie | Nagoya, Komaki | 2,792 | 22,497 | 5,490,453 | 5,385,383 | 5,151,367 | 4,713,287 | 3,708,670 |
Kyoto MEA | Shiga, Kyoto | Kyoto | 2,836 | 10,117 | 2,679,094 | 2,653,421 | 2,582,733 | 2,395,626 | 1,897,517 |
Fukuoka MEA | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,283 | 8,922 | 2,495,552 | 2,409,904 | 2,196,463 | 1,768,587 | 1,165,151 |
Kobe MEA | Hyōgo | Kobe | 1,245 | 8,427 | 2,431,076 | 2,417,914 | 2,309,076 | 2,130,237 | 1,697,644 |
Sapporo MEA | Ishikari Subprefecture, Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaido | Sapporo, Otaru | 3,205 | 7,438 | 2,341,599 | 2,325,653 | 2,198,255 | 1,798,624 | 1,151,946 |
Sendai MEA | Miyagi | Sendai | 2,077 | 5,414 | 1,574,942 | 1,549,746 | 1,466,989 | 1,202,186 | 850,828 |
Okayama MEA | Okayama | Okayama | 2,710 | 5,539 | 1,532,146 | 1,523,286 | 1,486,785 | 1,391,802 | 1,112,534 |
Maebashi MEA | Gunma | Maebashi, Takasaki, Isesaki | 2,653 | 5,252 | 1,453,528 | 1,459,895 | 1,439,840 | 1,327,539 | 1,142,579 |
Hiroshima MEA | Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 1,811 | 5,414 | 1,411,848 | 1,395,530 | 1,358,060 | 1,197,465 | 838,010 |
Kitakyushu MEA | Fukuoka | Kitakyushu | 1,222 | 4,889 | 1,370,169 | 1,392,145 | 1,429,463 | 1,459,479 | 1,397,618 |
Hamamatsu MEA | Shizuoka | Hamamatsu | 2,051 | 4,763 | 1,133,879 | 1,139,189 | 1,086,360 | 972,356 | 818,902 |
Utsunomiya MEA | Tochigi | Utsunomiya | 3,851 | 4,454 | 1,120,057 | 1,121,696 | 1,093,966 | 973,728 | 817,786 |
Kumamoto MEA | Kumamoto | Kumamoto | 1,604 | 3,490 | 1,102,398 | 1,089,366 | 1,053,231 | 924,422 | 795,803 |
Niigata MEA | Niigata | Niigata | 2,138 | 3,805 | 1,071,152 | 1,082,159 | 1,073,394 | 1,002,106 | 875,150 |
Shizuoka MEA | Shizuoka | Shizuoka | 1,677 | 4,024 | 1,001,597 | 1,008,368 | 1,016,145 | 966,153 | 808,584 |