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Tokyo Metropolis

Coordinates: 35°41′22″N 139°41′30″E / 35.68944°N 139.69167°E / 35.68944; 139.69167
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about metropolitan Tokyo. For more information, see Tokyo (disambiguation).
Tokyo
東京都
Japanese transcription(s)
 • RomajiTōkyō-to
Flag of Tokyo
Official seal of Tokyo
Location of Tokyo in Japan
Location of Tokyo in Japan
Coordinates: 35°41′22″N 139°41′30″E / 35.68944°N 139.69167°E / 35.68944; 139.69167
Country Japan
RegionKantō
IslandHonshū
Capitaln/a
Government
 • GovernorYuriko Koike
Area
 • Total2,187.08 km2 (844.44 sq mi)
 • Rank45th
Population
 (January 1, 2009)
 • Total12,790,000[1]
 • Rank1st
ISO 3166 codeJP-13
Prefectural flowerSomei-Yoshino cherry blossom
Prefectural treeGinkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Prefectural birdBlack-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Number of districts1
Number of municipalities62
Websitemetro.tokyo.jp(in English)

Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to) is the official name for of the traditional city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi) (1869-1943) and the associated municipalities of what was formerly Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu) (1869-1943).[2] It is the capital city and a prefecture of Japan on the island of Honshu.

Greater Tokyo includes land in the Kantō region and also the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands.[3] Ten percent (10%) of the Japanese people live in Tokyo, and as many as twenty percent (20%) of the population live around it. As of 2007, the population was 12,790,000. Tokyo is in a part of Japan called the Kantō Plain. Two big rivers run through Tokyo. One is the Arakawa River which runs from the north to the south, and flows into Tokyo Bay. The other is the Tama River which runs from the west to the east. The Tama River is a border between Tokyo and its neighbor city, Kawasaki.

In 1943, Tokyo prefecture's municipalities and city of Tokyo were associated in a special way.[2] The administration of Tokyo city merged with the administration of Tokyo Prefecture.[4] Tokyo Metropolis is governed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Other cities

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  • Akiruno
  • Inagi
  • Oume
  • Kiyose
  • Kunitachi
  • Koganei
  • Kokubunji
  • Kodaira
  • Komae
  • Tachikawa
  • Tama
  • Chofu
  • Nishi-tokyo
  • Hachiouji
  • Hamura
  • Higashi-kurume
  • Higashi-murayama
  • Higashi-yamato
  • Hino
  • Fuchu
  • Fussa
  • Machida
  • Mitaka
  • Musashino
  • Musashi-murayama

Other towns/villages

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  • Hinohara (village)
  • Mizuho (town)
  • Aogashima (village)
  • Hachijo (town)
  • Mikurajima(village)
  • Miyake (village)

Izu & Ogasawara Islands

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Tokyo has many outlying islands.[5]

The Izu Islands include Izu Ōshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kozushima, Miyakejima, Mikurajima, Hachijojima, and Aogashima.

The Ogasawara Islands include Chichi-jima, Nishinoshima, Haha-jima, Kita Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, and Minami Iwo Jima. Minami Torishima, the easternmost point in Japan, is also part of the Ogasawaras. Okinotorishima, the southernmost point in Japan, is also administered by Tokyo as part of this group.[6]

Transportation

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Tokyo is the cultural, business, and political center of the country. It is also the center of many transport systems. There are many air, rail, sea, and road links in and out of the city. Local subway and bus systems serve every part of the city.

Two commercial airports serve Tokyo. Haneda Airport is in the city limits next to Tokyo Bay. This airport is mostly for domestic travel. Most international flights to and from Tokyo go through Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, opened in 1978.

Tokyo has a busy international and domestic port, but more traffic goes through the nearby port of Yokohama. There are domestic ferries to the islands of Tokyo, but also to other parts of the country such as Hokkaido.

Sister cities

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References

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  1. (8,653,000 in special wards)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 東京都年表 (in Japanese); retrieved 2013-4-13.
  3. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōkyō" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 981-982; "Kantō" atp. 479.
  4. The idea of removing one level of government and raising Tokyo City administration to the level of other prefectures was not new. It had talked about since the 19th century -- for example, see draft of Tokyo law which was not passed in 1895 Archived 2013-02-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. McCormack, Gavan. "Dilemmas of Development on The Ogasawara Islands," Archived 2013-01-16 at the Wayback Machine JPRI Occasional Paper, No. 15 (August 1999). Japan Policy Research Institute (University of San Francisco); retrieved 2013-2-27.
  6. "Japan hopes to build lighthouse on atoll disputed with China," Xinhua (China). August 5, 2005; retrieved 2013-2-27.

Other websites

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Media related to Tokyo at Wikimedia Commons