This is a list of in Japan by population as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) and the Center for Spatial Information Science of the University of Tokyo. The region containing most of the people in Japan between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often called the Taiheiyō Belt.
Population Census 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.
2015 Population Census The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
2015 MMA: Major Metropolitan Area MA: Metropolitan Area Source: Statistics Bureau of JapanStatistics Bureau of Japan, 2015 Census Final Data
RankAreaPrefectureCentral CityArea Population01Kantō MMATokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture23 special wards area, Yokohama, Sagamihara, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama37,273,86602Keihanshin MMAOsaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama PrefectureOsaka, Sakai, Kobe, Kyoto19,302,74603Chūkyō MMAAichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie PrefectureNagoya9,363,22104Fukuoka-Kitakyushu MMAFukuoka PrefectureFukuoka, Kitakyushu5,538,14205Shizuoka-Hamamatsu MMAShizuoka PrefectureShizuoka, Hamamatsu2,842,15106Sapporo MMAIshikari Subprefecture in HokkaidōSapporo2,636,25407Sendai MMAMiyagi PrefectureSendai2,256,96408Hiroshima MMAHiroshima PrefectureHiroshima2,096,74509Utsunomiya MATochigi PrefectureUtsunomiya1,655,67310Okayama MMAOkayama PrefectureOkayama1,639,41411Kumamoto MMAKumamoto PrefectureKumamoto1,492,97512Niigata MMANiigata PrefectureNiigata1,395,612 13Kagoshima MAKagoshima PrefectureKagoshima1,126,63914Matsuyama MAEhime PrefectureMatsuyama706,883
2010 Population Census The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 11 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
2010 MMA: Major Metropolitan Area MA: Metropolitan Area Source: Statistics Bureau of JapanStatistics Bureau of Japan, 2010 Census Final Data
RankAreaPrefectureCentral CityArea Population01Kantō MMATokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture23 special wards area, Yokohama, Sagamihara, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama36,923,19302Keihanshin MMAOsaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama PrefectureOsaka, Sakai, Kobe, Kyoto19,341,97603Chūkyō MMAAichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie PrefectureNagoya9,107,41404Fukuoka-Kitakyushu MMAFukuoka PrefectureFukuoka, Kitakyushu5,515,42705Shizuoka-Hamamatsu MMAShizuoka PrefectureShizuoka, Hamamatsu2,741,02806Sapporo MMAIshikari Subprefecture in HokkaidōSapporo2,584,88007Sendai MMAMiyagi PrefectureSendai2,169,75708Hiroshima MMAHiroshima PrefectureHiroshima2,099,51409Utsunomiya MATochigi PrefectureUtsunomiya1,886,89810Okayama MMAOkayama PrefectureOkayama1,647,89211Kumamoto MMAKumamoto PrefectureKumamoto1,476,43512Niigata MMANiigata PrefectureNiigata1,421,694 13Kagoshima MAKagoshima PrefectureKagoshima1,152,74814Matsuyama MAEhime PrefectureMatsuyama717,687 Changes from 2005 census
The following changes to metropolitan area definitions were made in the 2010 Census report.Statistics Bureau of Japan New central cities in Kantō and Keihanshin major metropolitan areas Sagamihara in the Kantō MMA and Sakai in the Keihanshin MMA have become designated cities in 2010 and 2006 respectively. These cities are already well within their MMAs and should not greatly alter their formation. Niigata and Okayama major metropolitan areas Niigata became a designated city in 2007 and Okayama became a designated city in 2009. These cities therefore formed major metropolitan areas in the 2010 census. Shizuoka, Hamamatsu major metropolitan area Hamamatsu also became a designated city in 2007. As its outlying areas overlap with Shizuoka, the two cities formed a single major metropolitan area in the 2010 census. Utsunomiya metropolitan area Utsunomiya qualified as a central city for the 2010 census, resulting from mergers with neighboring municipalities and subsequent population growth.
2005 Population Census The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 8 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
October 1, 2005 MMA: Major Metropolitan Area MA: Metropolitan Area Source: Statistics Bureau of JapanStatistics Bureau of Japan, 2005 Census Final Data
RankAreaPrefectureCentral CityArea Population01Kantō MMATokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture23 special wards area, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama35,682,46002Keihanshin MMAOsaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama PrefectureOsaka, Kobe, Kyoto18,768,39503Chūkyō MMAAichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie PrefectureNagoya8,923,44504Fukuoka-Kitakyushu MMAFukuoka PrefectureFukuoka, Kitakyushu5,590,37805Sapporo MMAIshikari Subprefecture in HokkaidōSapporo2,606,21406Sendai MMAMiyagi PrefectureSendai2,289,65607Hiroshima MMAHiroshima PrefectureHiroshima2,064,53608Okayama MMAOkayama PrefectureOkayama1,646,75709Kumamoto MAKumamoto PrefectureKumamoto1,462,40910Niigata MMANiigata PrefectureNiigata1,442,95811Shizuoka MMAShizuoka PrefectureShizuoka1,427,10712Hamamatsu MAShizuoka PrefectureHamamatsu1,304,54813Kagoshima MAKagoshima PrefectureKagoshima1,132,10614Matsuyama MAEhime PrefectureMatsuyama724,048
Urban Employment Area
Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Science, the University of Tokyo.
2020 Based on data from Japan’s 2020 Population Census, 104 Major Employment Areas (MEAs) and 108 Micropolitan Employment Areas (McEAs) have been defined in Japan. The ten largest metropolitan areas are listed below in descending order of size.
Rank Metropolitan area Prefectures Central cities Population 1 Tokyo MEA Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi 2 Osaka MEA Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama Osaka, Sakai, Kadoma, Higashiōsaka 3 Nagoya MEA Gifu, Aichi, Mie Nagoya, Handa, Kariya, Anjō, Komaki, Tōkai 4 Kyoto MEA Shiga, Kyoto Kyoto, Kusatsu 5 Fukuoka MEA Fukuoka Fukuoka 6 Kobe MEAAlthough the Nishiwaki McEA is defined in the source’s 2020 definition, the underlying 2020 Population Census data indicate that, out of 19,280 employed residents aged 15 and over in Nishiwaki City, 175 were classified as having an “unknown or foreign” place of work, 620 as having an “unknown” place of work, and 2,496 as working in Kato City. As the commuting rate from Nishiwaki City to Kato City (a suburb of the Kobe MEA) is 13.5%, Nishiwaki City and Taka Town are therefore included in the Kobe MEA. Hyōgo Kobe 7 Sapporo MEA Ishikari and Shiribeshi Subprefectures in Hokkaido Sapporo 8 Sendai MEA Miyagi Sendai 9 Okayama MEA Okayama Okayama 10 Hiroshima MEA Hiroshima Hiroshima
2015 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. Rank Metropolitan area Prefecture Central city Population 1 Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi Special wards of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tachikawa, Musashino, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Atsugi 2 Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama Osaka, Sakai, Kadoma, Higashiōsaka 3 Gifu, Aichi, Mie Nagoya, Handa, Kariya, Anjō, Komaki, Tōkai 4 Shiga, Kyoto Kyoto, Kusatsu 5 Fukuoka Fukuoka 6 Hyōgo Kobe 7 Ishikari and Shiribeshi Subprefecture in Hokkaido Sapporo, Otaru 8 Miyagi Sendai 9 Okayama Okayama 10 Hiroshima Hiroshima
2010 The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan. MEA: Metropolitan Employment Area Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Center for Spatial Information Science, the University of Tokyo + 2010 Standards 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
See also Metropolitan Area List of cities in Japan List of metropolitan areas by population
References
External links Population Census of Japan Urban Employment Area Maps