List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population

Kantō MMA

File:Keihanshin Major Metropolitan Area.png

Keihanshin Major Metropolitan Area

This table contains lists of Japanese metropolitan areas (都市圏), as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ). The lists include the prefectures containing the region, the population of the region, and the central cities of each region. The region containing most of the people in Japan between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often called the Taiheiyo Belt.

Usage note: Metropolitan area populations are often controversial and the methods used to calculate them vary from country to country and source to source, so great care should be taken when comparing the figures in this table with figures for any other country. Meaningful comparisons of metropolitan area population figures can only be made if the methods used to determine each figure are consistent.

Definition

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 together and a single metropolitan area is defined rather than independently.

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 Japan

Rank	Area	Prefecture	Central City	Area Population
01	Kantō MMA	Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture	23 special wards area, Yokohama, Sagamihara, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama	36,923,193
02	Keihanshin MMA	Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture	Osaka, Sakai, Kobe, Kyoto	19,341,976
03	Chūkyō MMA	Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie Prefecture	Nagoya	9,107,414
04	Kitakyūshū-Fukuoka MMA	Fukuoka Prefecture	Fukuoka, Kitakyushu	5,515,427
05	Shizuoka-Hamamatsu MMA	Shizuoka Prefecture	Shizuoka, Hamamatsu	2,741,028
06	Sapporo MMA	Ishikari Subprefecture in Hokkaidō	Sapporo	2,584,880
07	Sendai MMA	Miyagi Prefecture	Sendai	2,169,757
08	Hiroshima MMA	Hiroshima Prefecture	Hiroshima	2,099,514
09	Utsunomiya MA	Tochigi Prefecture	Utsunomiya	1,686,898
10	Okayama MMA	Okayama Prefecture	Okayama	1,647,892
11	Kumamoto MMA	Kumamoto Prefecture	Kumamoto	1,476,435
12	Niigata MMA	Niigata Prefecture	Niigata	1,421,694
13	Kagoshima MA	Kagoshima Prefecture	Kagoshima	1,152,748
14	Matsuyama MA	Ehime Prefecture	Matsuyama	717,687

Changes from 2005 census The following changes to metropolitan area definitions were made in the 2010 Census report.

• 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 census

The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 8 major metropolitan areas of Japan.

• Oct. 1st, 2005
• MMA : Major Metropolitan Area
• MA : Metropolitan Area
• Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan

Rank	Area	Prefecture	Central City	Area Population
01	Kantō MMA	Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture	23 special wards area, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama	35,682,460
02	Keihanshin MMA	Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture	Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto	18,768,395
03	Chūkyō MMA	Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie Prefecture	Nagoya	8,923,445
04	Kitakyūshū-Fukuoka MMA	Fukuoka Prefecture	Fukuoka, Kitakyushu	5,590,378
05	Sapporo MMA	Ishikari Subprefecture in Hokkaidō	Sapporo	2,606,214
06	Sendai MMA	Miyagi Prefecture	Sendai	2,289,656
07	Hiroshima MMA	Hiroshima Prefecture	Hiroshima	2,064,536
08	Okayama MMA	Okayama Prefecture	Okayama	1,646,757
09	Kumamoto MA	Kumamoto Prefecture	Kumamoto	1,462,409
10	Niigata MMA	Niigata Prefecture	Niigata	1,442,958
11	Shizuoka MMA	Shizuoka Prefecture	Shizuoka	1,427,107
12	Hamamatsu MA	Shizuoka Prefecture	Hamamatsu	1,304,548
13	Kagoshima MA	Kagoshima Prefecture	Kagoshima	1,132,106
14	Matsuyama MA	Ehime Prefecture	Matsuyama	724,048

Urban Employment Area

Main article: Urban Employment Area

Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo. The Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan.

See also

• Metropolitan Area
• List of Japanese cities by population
• List of metropolitan areas by population