Capital of Japan

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Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan, where the seat of the Government of Japan and home of the Emperor are located. While this is generally accepted, the capital de jure is disputed by some people.[citation needed] Some supporters of the argument that Tokyo is the de jure capital city of Japan cite the 1868 establishment of Tokyo prefecture as the date that it became the capital. Others[who?] state that it occurred when Edo Castle became Tokyo Castle that same year, and still others say that it occurred when Tokyo Castle became the Imperial Castle (now the Kōkyo) in 1869. Historically speaking, while there was an imperial edict transferring the capital to Heian-kyō, such a basis has never been provided for the transfer from Kyoto to Tokyo. So, today, there are some[who?] people[citation needed] who argue that since the transfer to Heiankyo was valid, Kyoto is still the capital of Japan, while some[who?] say[citation needed] that Tokyo and Kyoto are simultaneously capitals of Japan.

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Arguments in favor of Tokyo as capital [edit]

The "capital area" in Japanese law [edit]

While no laws have designated Tokyo as the Japanese capital, many laws have defined a "capital area" (首都圏 shuto-ken?) that incorporates Tokyo. Article 2 of the Capital Area Consolidation Law (首都圏整備法?) of 1956 states that "In this Act, the term 'capital area' shall denote a broad region comprising both the territory of Tokyo Metropolis as well as outlying regions designated by cabinet order." This clearly implies that the government has designated Tokyo as the capital of Japan, although (again) it is not explicitly stated, and the definition of the "capital area" is purposely restricted to the terms of that specific law.[1]

Other laws referring to this "capital area" include the Capital Expressway Public Corporation Law (首都高速道路公団法?) and the Capital Area Greenbelt Preservation Law (首都圏近郊緑地保全法?).[2]

This term for capital was never used to refer to Kyoto. Indeed, shuto came into use during the 1860s as a gloss of the English term "capital".

Official government positions [edit]

In 1941, the Ministry of Education published a book called "History of the Restoration", which is still used by modern scholars. This book referred to the "designation of Tokyo as capital" (東京奠都 Tōkyō-tento?) without talking about "moving the capital to Tokyo" (東京遷都 Tōkyō-sento?). A contemporary history textbook states that the Meiji government "moved the capital (shuto) from Kyoto to Tokyo" without using the sento term.[3]

Recently, there has been a movement to transfer the capital from Tokyo, with the Gifu-Aichi region, the Mie-Kio region and other regions submitting bids for it. Officially, the relocation is referred to as "capital functions relocation" instead of "capital relocation", or as "relocation of the Diet and other organizations".[4][5]

Successive capitals of Japan [edit]

The names of corresponding imperial palaces are included in parentheses.

References [edit]

  1. ^ 首都圏整備法. Law.e-gov.go.jp. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  2. ^ 首都圏近郊緑地保全法. Law.e-gov.go.jp. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  3. ^ 国会等の移転ホームページ – 国土交通省. Mlit.go.jp. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  4. ^ "Shift of Capital from Tokyo Committee". Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  5. ^ "Policy Speech by Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara at the First Regular Session of the Metropolitan Assembly, 2003". Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 2007-10-17. 
  6. ^ Brown, Delmer. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 262-263; excerpt, "... palace was Osada no Miya of Iware in the province of Yamato."

See also [edit]

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