Kids Web Japan

Japan has 47 prefectures. On the basis of geographical and historical background, these prefectures can be divided into nine regions: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa.

Each region has its own dialect, customs, and unique traditional culture. For example, the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, and the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, offer striking contrasts in everything from the taste of food to the style of traditional performing arts, and people have fun comparing them.

Japan has a total population of 128 million. This is the tenth highest population in the world. Since the population is high compared with the country's land area, the population density is high at 343 persons per square kilometer. This figure is much higher than the United States (31) and France (110) but about the same as Belgium (341).

Mountainous areas account for more than 70% of Japan's land, so major cities are concentrated in the plains that account for less than 30% of the land. Cities with a population exceeding one million are Sapporo in Hokkaido; Sendai in the Tohoku region; Kawasaki, Saitama, Tokyo, and Yokohama in the Kanto region; Nagoya in the Chubu region; Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe in the Kinki region; Hiroshima in the Chugoku region; and Fukuoka in Kyushu. The capital city Tokyo, needless to say, is the hub of Japan. Other major cities fulfill roles as the political, economic, and cultural hubs of their respective regions.