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Osaka Prefecture

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Template:Infobox Prefecture Japan Osaka Prefectual Government (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu) is a prefecture located in the Kinki region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.

History

For the history of Osaka prior to Meiji Restoration, see Osaka.

Osaka prefecture was created in 1868, at the very beginning of Meiji era.[1]

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

In 2000, Fusae Ota (太田 房江), was the first female to become a governor in Japan, replacing the former Knock Yokoyama, who resigned after having been prosecuted for sexual harassment.[2].

On April 1, 2006: Sakai City was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 7 wards.

Geography

Osaka prefecture is directly neighboring to the prefectures of Hyogo and Kyoto in the north, Nara in the east and Wakayama in the south. The west is open to Osaka Bay. Rivers flowing through includes the Yodo River and Yamato River.

Osaka used to be the smallest in area in Japan prior to the construction of Kansai International Airport, but is now merely the second-smallest, thanks to the artificial island the airport has reclaimed.[3][4].

Map of Osaka Prefecture.

Cities

Thirty-three cities are located in Osaka Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Mergers

(as of 12/26/05)

The town of Mihara merged into the city of Sakai. Since then Sakai has been split into wards of which Mihara is one.

  • Merger: Chihayaakasaka and Kawachinagano (possibly by end of May 2007)

The village of Chiahayaakasaka, the only remaining village within the prefecture, has requested a merger into the adjacent city of Kawachinagano, after talks of merging with the surrounding towns of Kanan and Taishi fell through.[5]

Economy

The gross prefecture product of Osaka for the fiscal year 2004 was ¥38.7 trillion, second after Tokyo with an increase of 0.9% versus previous year. This represented approximately 48% of the Kinki region. The per capita income was ¥3.0 million, 7th in the nation.[6] Commercial sales the same year was ¥60.1 trillion.[7]

Shadowed by globally renowned electronics giants as Matsushita or Sharp, the other side of Osaka's economy can be characterized with its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) activities. The number of SMEs based in Osaka in 2006 were 330,737, accounting for 99.6% of total number of businesses in the prefecture.[8] While such proportion is similar to other prefectures (nationwide average was 99.7%), the manufacturing shipment from the SMEs amounted for 65.4% of the total within the prefecture, a significantly higher rate compared to Tokyo's 55.5%, or Kanagawa's 38.4%.[9] One of the popularly highlighted model from Osaka serving the public interest of re-stimulting regional economy, combined with industry-education cooperation efforts is the Astro-Technology SOHLA,[10] with is struggling artificial satellite project.[11] 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 the support from the government, through technology and material support from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)[12], and financial support from NEDO[13][14].

The Osaka Securities Exchange, specialized much in the derivatives such as Nikkei 225 Futures, is based in Osaka.

It is features there are many companies about electrical, chemical,pharmaceutical, heavy industry food and housing.


For major companies based in Osaka

see Category:Companies headquartered in Osaka

For major factories and research institutes in Osaka

see Hanshin Industrial Region and Kansai Science City

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.[15]

Culture

Museums

Universities in Osaka Prefecture

Parks

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Osaka.

Football (soccer)

Baseball

Basketball

Volleyball

Transportation

Osaka Prefecture has three airports (Kansai International Airport, Osaka International Airport, and Yao Airport).

Ford more information about the railroad system, see Category:Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture (Osaka mass transit ).

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.

Friendship relationships

Osaka Prefecture has sister-city type relationships with these eight locations:[5]

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.

Miscellaneous topics

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Tolbert, Kathryn. "Election of First Female Governor Boosts Japan's Ruling Party", The Washington Post, February 8, 2000.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ Asahi Shimbun, Osaka edition, April 30th 2007, p. 1, 大阪唯一の村消える？ Ōsaka yuiitsu no mura kieru?
  6. ^ "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). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  7. ^ "大阪府民経済計算 (Osaka Prefectural Economy based on 93SNA) Osaka Prefectural Government" (PDF) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  8. ^ "2006 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, Japan Small Business Research Institute (Japan)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  9. ^ "なにわの経済データ (The Naniwa Economy Data)" (PDF) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  10. ^ "Astro-Technology SOHLA" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  11. ^ "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) [1]
  12. ^ ""Smaller firms build a satellite" City of Osaka, Chicago Office". Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  13. ^ The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
  14. ^ ""Study of PETSAT" NEDO, 2005" (PDF) (in Japanese with English abstract). Retrieved 2007-03-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  15. ^ "Table 1: 大阪府の人口の推移 ( Population Change of Osaka Prefecture)" (in Japanese). Osaka Prefectural Government. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  16. ^ introduction (japanese), retrieved March 14, 2007
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