Osaka Prefecture

Osaka Prefecture
大阪府
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese 大阪府
 • Rōmaji Ōsaka-fu

Flag
Coordinates: 34°41′11″N 135°31′12″E / 34.68639°N 135.52000°E / 34.68639; 135.52000Coordinates: 34°41′11″N 135°31′12″E / 34.68639°N 135.52000°E / 34.68639; 135.52000
Country Japan
Region Kansai
Island Honshu
Capital Osaka
Government
 • Governor Ichirō Matsui
Area
 • Total 1,899.28 km2 (733.32 sq mi)
Area rank 46th
Population (January 1, 2012)
 • Total 8,864,228
 • Rank 3rd
 • Density 4,700/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code JP-27
Districts 5
Municipalities 43
Flower Japanese apricot (Prunus mume)
Primrose (Primula sieboldii)
Tree Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Bird Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus)
Website www.pref.osaka.jp/en/index.html

Osaka Prefecture (大阪府 Ōsaka-fu) is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshu, the main island of Japan.[1] The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.[2] Osaka is one of the two "urban prefectures" (府 fu) of Japan, Kyoto being the other (Tokyo became a "metropolitan prefecture", or to, in 1941).

History

Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Osaka prefecture was known as Kawachi, Izumi, and Settsu provinces.[3]

Osaka Prefecture was created on June 21, 1868, at the very beginning of the Meiji era.[4] During the instigation of Fuhanken Sanchisei in 1868, the prefecture received its suffix fu, designating it as an urban prefecture.

On September 1, 1956, the city of Osaka was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 24 wards.

In 2000, Fusae Ota became Japan's first female governor when she replaced Knock Yokoyama, who resigned after prosecution for sexual harassment.[5]

On April 1, 2006: the city of Sakai was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into seven wards.

In 2008, Tōru Hashimoto, previously famous as a counselor on television, was elected at the age of 38 as the youngest governor in Japan.

Reform

Main article: Osaka Metropolis plan

In 2010, the Osaka Restoration Association was created with backing by Governor Tōru Hashimoto, attempting to reform Osaka Prefecture into Osaka Metropolis reducing affiliated organizations of Osaka Prefecture and the City of Osaka.

In the 2011 local elections the association was able to win the majority of the prefectural seats.

The plan was narrowly defeated in the 2015 referendum (49.62% yes and 50.38% no).

Geography

Osaka Prefecture neighbors the prefectures of Hyōgo and Kyoto in the north, Nara in the east and Wakayama in the south. The west is open to Osaka Bay. The Yodo and Yamato Rivers flow through the prefecture.

Prior to the construction of Kansai International Airport, Osaka was the smallest prefecture in Japan. The artificial island on which the airport was built added enough area to make it slightly larger than Kagawa Prefecture.[6][7]

As of 1 April 2012, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen and Meiji no Mori Minō Quasi-National Parks and Hokusetsu and Hannan-Misaki Prefectural Natural Parks.[8]

Cities

Map of Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefectural Office
Sakai
Takatsuki

Thirty-three cities are located in Osaka Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Mergers

Economy

Diamond district in Umeda
Herbis ENT
Osaka castle
Osaka Castle park and Osaka business park
Universal Studios Japan
Kansai International Airport
Umeda Sky Building
Famous advertisement by Glico man in Dōtonbori (middle-left)

The gross prefecture product of Osaka for the fiscal year 2004 was ¥38.7 trillion, second after Tokyo with an increase of 0.9% from the previous year. This represented approximately 48% of the Kinki region. The per capita income was ¥3.0 million, seventh in the nation.[9] Commercial sales the same year was ¥60.1 trillion.[10]

Overshadowed by such globally renowned electronics giants as Panasonic and Sharp, the other side of Osaka's economy can be characterized by its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) activities. The number of SMEs based in Osaka in 2006 was 330,737, accounting for 99.6% of the total number of businesses in the prefecture.[11] While this proportion is similar to other prefectures (the average nationwide was 99.7%), the manufactured output of the SMEs amounted to 65.4% of the total within the prefecture, a rate significantly higher than Tokyo's 55.5%, or Kanagawa's 38.4%.[12] One model from Osaka of serving the public interest and restimulating the regional economy, combined with industry-education cooperation efforts, is the Astro-Technology SOHLA,[13] with its artificial satellite project.[14] Having originally started from a gathering of Higashiosaka based SMEs, Astro-Technology SOHLA has not only grown into a Kansai region-wide group but has also won support from the government, through technology and material support from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA),[15] and financial support from NEDO.[16][17]

The Osaka Securities Exchange, specializing in derivatives such as Nikkei 225 Futures, is based in Osaka.

There are many electrical, chemical,pharmaceutical, heavy industry, food, and housing companies in Osaka Prefecture.

Major factories and research institutes

Demographics

According to the 2005 Population Census of Japan, Osaka prefecture has a population of 8,817,166, an increase of 12,085, or 0.14%, since the Census of year 2000.[18]

As of 2013 this prefecture has about 200,000 ethnic Korean persons, the largest such population of any prefecture in Japan. Osaka City. As of 2013 most ethnic Korean children attend ordinary Japanese public schools, although some Korean schools operated by the Chongryon and classes for ethnic Koreans had opened in the prefecture. During the Japanese rule of Korea many ethnic Koreans came to the Osaka area to look for work. Many people from Jeju came to the Osaka area after a 1922 ferry line between Osaka and Jeju opened. During World War II Japanese authorities forced additional ethnic Koreans to move to the Osaka area.[19]

Culture

Temples and Shrines

Museums

Education

Public elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture are operated by the municipalities. Public high schools are operated by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education.

Universities

Parks

Transportation

Rail

People movers

Road

Expressways

National highways

Airports

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Osaka.

Football (soccer)

League

Non-league

Baseball

Basketball

Volleyball

Rugby union

Prefectural symbols

The symbol of Osaka Prefecture, called the sennari byōtan or "thousand gourds," was originally the crest of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the feudal lord of Osaka Castle.

Miscellanea

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Osaka-fu" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 759, p. 759, at Google Books; "Kansai" in p. 477, p. 477, at Google Books.
  2. ↑ Nussbaum, "Osaka" in p. 759, p. 759, at Google Books.
  3. ↑ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
  4. ↑ "大阪のあゆみ (History of Osaka)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-12.The creation of Osaka prefecture took place slight earlier than many other prefectures, that had to wait for abolition of the han system in 1871.
  5. ↑ Tolbert, Kathryn. "Election of First Female Governor Boosts Japan's Ruling Party", The Washington Post, February 8, 2000.
  6. ↑ "平成１０年全国都道府県市区町村の面積の公表について(Official announcement on the national territory and area of 1998, by prefectures, cities, districts, towns and villages)", Geographical Survey Institute, Government of Japan, January 29, 1999.
  7. ↑ "コラム Vol.017 全国都道府県市区町村面積調 (Column: "National Area Investigation" vol.017)", Alps Mapping K.K., March 8, 2001.
  8. ↑ "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "平成16年度の県民経済計算について (Prefectural Economy for the fiscal year 2004 based on 93SNA) Cabinet Office, Government of Japan" (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  10. ↑ "大阪府民経済計算 (Osaka Prefectural Economy based on 93SNA) Osaka Prefectural Government" (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  11. ↑ "2006 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, Japan Small Business Research Institute (Japan)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  12. ↑ "なにわの経済データ (The Naniwa Economy Data)" (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  13. ↑ "Astro-Technology SOHLA" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  14. ↑ "Japan Advertising Council". Retrieved 2007-03-14. For details on the campaign featuring SOHLA, navigate through the Japanese page to the 2003 campaign listing, at entry "東大阪の人工衛星" (Higashiosaka's Satellite)
  15. ↑ ""Smaller firms build a satellite" City of Osaka, Chicago Office". Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  16. ↑ The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
  17. ↑ ""Study of PETSAT" NEDO, 2005" (PDF) (in Japanese and English). Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  18. ↑ "Table 1: 大阪府の人口の推移 ( Population Change of Osaka Prefecture)" (in Japanese). Osaka Prefectural Government. Archived from the original on 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  19. ↑ Aoki, Eriko. "Korean children, textbooks, and educational practices in Japanese primary schools" (Chapter 8). In: Ryang, Sonia. Koreans in Japan: Critical Voices from the Margin (Routledge Studies in Asia's Transformations). Routledge, October 8, 2013. ISBN 1136353054, 9781136353055. Start: p. 157. CITED: p. 166.
  20. ↑ 財団法人 国際花と緑の博覧会記念協会：English：Expo'90 Foundation
  21. ↑ 回転寿司！元祖 廻る元禄寿司 ！回転寿司の事始め！, retrieved March 14, 2007 (Japanese)

References

External links

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