- List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population
This table contains lists of Japanese
metropolitan area s (都市圏) of more than 1,000,000 people in population size order, as defined by [http://www.stat.go.jp Statistics Bureau of Japan] . The lists include the prefectures containing the region, the population of the region, and the central cities of each region. The population data is taken from the 2000 Census of Japan. The region containing most of the people in Japan, between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often calledTaiheiyo 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 thoroughly understood."
Japan Statistics Bureau
The [http://www.stat.go.jp Statistics Bureau of Japan] defines a metropolitan area as a central city 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 the central city. 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 known 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, the metropolitan areas are combined into a single region.The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 7 major metropolitan areas of Japan, considered to be the de-facto primary cities of each region of the country.
*Oct. 1st, 2000
*MMA : Major Metropolitan Area
*MA : Metropolitan Area
*Sources : cite web|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2000/final/zuhyou/092.xls|format=XLS|title=Population of metropolitan areas|publisher=Japan Statistics Bureau|accessdate=2007-06-05]Changes after 2000
*Saitama became a designated city on 2003-04-01 making it a central city of the major metropolitan area for Tokyo. Several municipalities were subsequently added to the Keihin'yō MMA. The new metropolitan region is called the Kantō MMA with a total population (using 2000 census figures) of 34,610,000 and covering an area of 13,754 km².
*As of 2005, two new cities qualify as officially-designated metropolitan regions:
**Shizuoka qualifies as the central city of the Shizuoka MMA.
**Matsuyama qualifies as the central city of the Matsuyama MA.Urban Employment Area
Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service, the
University of Tokyo .References
ee also
*
Metropolitan Area
*List of metropolitan areas by population
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