The prefectures of Japan are the country’s 47 first-order subnational jurisdictions on a state or provincial level: one “metropolis”, Tokyo; one “circuit”/territory, Hokkaido; two urban prefectures, Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . Prefectures are governmental bodies larger than cities, towns, and villages. The former provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures in the 1870s. The chief executive of each prefecture is a directly elected governor .
