Special wards of Tokyo

Analogues exist in historic and contemporary Chinese and Korean administration: "Special wards" are city-independent wards, analogously, "special cities/special cities" (teukbyeol-si/tokubetsu-shi) are province-/prefecture-independent cities and were intended to be introduced under SCAP in Japan, too; but in Japan, implementation was stalled, and in 1956 special cities were replaced in the Local Autonomy Law with designated major cities which gain additional autonomy, but remain part of prefectures. In everyday English, Tokyo as a whole is also referred to as a city even though it contains 62 cities, towns, villages and special wards. The closest English equivalents for the special wards would be the London boroughs or New York City boroughs if Greater London and New York City had been abolished in the same way as Tokyo City and they were immediate part of England or New York state, and this can help to understand their structures and functions.

Although special wards are autonomous from the Tokyo metropolitan government, they also function as a single urban entity in respect to certain public services, including water supply, sewage disposal, and fire services. These services are handled by the Tokyo metropolitan government, whereas cities would normally provide these services themselves. This situation is identical between the Federal District and its 31 administrative regions in Brazil. To finance the joint public services it provides to the 23 wards, the metropolitan government levies some of the taxes that would normally be levied by city governments, and also makes transfer payments to wards that cannot finance their own local administration.[2]

Waste disposal is handled by each ward under direction of the metropolitan government. For example, plastics were generally handled as non-burnable waste until the metropolitan government announced a plan to halt burying of plastic waste by 2010; as a result, about half of the special wards now treat plastics as burnable waste, while the other half mandate recycling of either all or some plastics.[3]

Unlike other municipalities (including the municipalities of western Tokyo), special wards were initially not considered to be local public entities for purposes of the Constitution of Japan. This means that they had no constitutional right to pass their own legislation, or to hold direct elections for mayors and councilors. While these authorities were granted by statute during the US-led occupation and again from 1975, they could be unilaterally revoked by the National Diet; similar measures against other municipalities would require a constitutional amendment. The denial of elected mayors to the special wards was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 1963 decision Japan v. Kobayashi et al. (also known as Tokyo Ward Autonomy Case).

In 1998, the National Diet passed a revision of the Local Autonomy Law (effective in the year 2000) that implemented the conclusions of the Final Report on the Tokyo Ward System Reform increasing their fiscal autonomy and established the wards as basic local public entities.

The word "special" distinguishes them from the wards (区, ku) of other major Japanese cities. Before 1943, the wards of Tokyo City were no different from the wards of Osaka or Kyoto. These original wards numbered 15 in 1889. Large areas from five surrounding districts were merged into the city in 1932 and organized in 20 new wards, bringing the total to 35; the expanded city was also referred to as "Greater Tokyo" (大東京, Dai-Tōkyō). By this merger, together with smaller ones in 1920 and 1936, Tokyo City came to expand to the current city area.

Special wards do not currently exist outside Tokyo; however, several Osaka area politicians, led by Governor Tōru Hashimoto, are backing an Osaka Metropolis plan under which the city of Osaka would be replaced by special wards, consolidating many government functions at the prefectural level and devolving other functions to more localized governments. Under a new 2012 law, – sometimes informally called "Osaka Metropolis plan law", but not specifically referring to Osaka – major cities and their surrounding municipalities in prefectures other than Tokyo may be replaced with special wards with similar functions if approved by the involved municipal and prefectural governments and ultimately the citizens of the dissolving municipalities in a referendum. Prerequisite is a population of at least 2 million in the dissolving municipalities; three cities (Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka) meet this requirement on their own, seven other major city areas can set up special wards if a designated city is joined by neighboring municipalities.[6] However, prefectures (道府県, -dō/-fu/-ken) where special wards are set up cannot style themselves metropolis (都, -to) as the Local Autonomy Law only allows Tokyo with that status.[7] In Osaka, a 2015 referendum to replace the city with five special wards was defeated narrowly.

Asakusa

Ginza

Marunouchi

Shibuya

Shinjuku

Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower viewed from Odaiba

Many important districts are located in Tokyo's special wards:

Akasaka

A district with a range of restaurants, clubs and hotels; many pedestrian alleys giving it a local neighbourhood feel. Next to Roppongi, Nagatachō, and Aoyama.

Akihabara

A densely arranged shopping district popular for electronics, anime culture, amusement arcades and otaku goods.[9]

Aoyama

A neighborhood of Tokyo adjacent to Omotesando with parks, trendy cafes, and international restaurants.

Asakusa

A cultural center of Tokyo, famous for the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, and several traditional shopping streets. For most of the twentieth century, Asakusa was the main entertainment district in Tokyo, with large theaters, cinemas, an amusement park and a red light district. The area was heavily damaged by US bombing raids during World War II, and has now been rivaled by newer districts in the west of the city as entertainment and commercial centers.

Ginza and Yūrakuchō

Major shopping and entertainment district with historic department stores, upscale shops selling brand-name goods, and movie theaters. This area is part of the original city center in the wards of Chuo and Chiyoda (as opposed to the new centers in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya).

Harajuku

Known internationally for its role in Japanese street fashion.

Ikebukuro

The busiest interchange in north central Tokyo, featuring Sunshine City and various shopping destinations.

Jinbōchō

Tokyo's center of used-book stores and publishing houses, and a popular antique and curio shopping area.

Kasumigaseki

Home to most of the executive offices of the national government, as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.

Kinshichō

Home to the best spot in the entire Japan to play the Augmented Reality game Pokemon GO. The local train station, Kinshicho Station, is the most favoured fixed grind spot for locals to eat and play at the same time, whereas the nearby Ryogoku Hyperloop is another place where locals cycle around lured stops in the weekends and play Pokemon GO until last night.

Marunouchi and Ōtemachi

As one of the main financial and business districts of Tokyo, Marunouchi includes the headquarters of many banks, trading companies and other major corporations. The area is seeing a major redevelopment in the near future with plans for new buildings and skyscrapers for shopping and entertainment constructed on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. This area is part of the original city center in the wards of Chuo and Chiyoda (as opposed to the new centers in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya).

Nagatachō

The political heart of Tokyo and the nation. It is the location of the National Diet (parliament), government ministries, and party headquarters.

Odaiba

A large, reclaimed, waterfront area that has become one of Tokyo's most popular shopping and entertainment districts.

Omotesandō

Known for upscale shopping, fashion, and design

Roppongi

Home to the rich Roppongi Hills area, Mori Tower, an active night club scene, and a relatively large presence of Western tourists and expatriates.

Ryōgoku

The heart of the sumo world. Home to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan and many sumo stables.

Shibuya

A long-time center of shopping, fashion, nightlife and youth culture. Shibuya is a famous and popular location for photographers and tourists.

Shinagawa

In addition to the major hotels on the west side of Shinagawa Station, the former "sleepy east side of the station" has been redeveloped as a major center for business.[10]

Shinbashi

An traditional Shitamachi district, recently revitalized by being the gateway to Odaiba and the Shiodome Shiosite complex of high-rise buildings.

Shinjuku

Location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and a major secondary center of Tokyo (fukutoshin), as opposed to the original center in Marunouchi and Ginza. The area is known for its concentration of skyscrapers and shopping areas. Major department stores, electronics stores and hotels are located here. On the east side of Shinjuku Station, Kabukichō is known for its many bars and nightclubs. Shinjuku Station moves an estimated three million passengers a day, which makes it the busiest rail station in the world.

Ueno

Ueno is known for its parks, department stores, and large concentration of cultural institutions. Ueno Zoo and Ueno Park are located here. Ueno Station is a major transportation hub serving commuters to and from areas north and east of Tokyo. In the spring, the area is a popular locale to view cherry blossoms.

• Administrative division
• Urban area
• Capital of Japan
• List of Japanese cities by population
• Wards of Japan
• Special cities of Japan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wards in Tokyo.

• Tokyo Metropolitan Government explanation of special wards
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government statistics (in Japanese)
• Association of special ward mayors (tokubetsu-kuchōkai) (in Japanese)
• Association of special ward assembly presidents (tokubetsu-kugikai gichōkai) (in Japanese)
• "Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s," by A.J. Jacobs at Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011); doi:10.1155/2011/692764
• Historical Development of Japanese Local Governance
• "Large City System of Japan"; graphic shows special wards of Tokyo compared with other Japanese city types at p. 1 [PDF 7 of 40]
• Text of the Local Government Law (in Japanese)