Osaka Prefecture
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| Image:Map of Japan with highlight on 27 Osaka 大阪府.svg | |
| Capital | Osaka (city) |
| Region | Kinki |
| Island | Honshū |
| Governor | Fusae Ota |
| Area | 1,892.86 km² (46th) |
| - % water | 17.9% |
| Population (September 1, 2007) | |
| - Population | 8,829,148 (3rd) |
| - Density | 4,664 /km² |
| Districts | 5 |
| Municipalities | 43 |
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-27 |
| Website | www.pref.osaka.jp/en/ |
| Prefectural Symbols | |
| - Flower | Primrose (Primula sieboldii) |
| - Tree | Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) |
| - Bird | Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus) |
| Image:PrefSymbol-Osaka.png Symbol of Osaka Prefecture | |
Osaka Prefecture (大阪府 Ōsaka-fu?) is a prefecture located in the Kinki region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.
Contents |
[edit] 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, the city of Osaka 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: the city of Sakai was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 7 wards.
[edit] 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.
Osaka used to be the smallest prefecture prior to the construction of Kansai International Airport. The artificial island on which the airport was built added enough area to make it the second-smallest after Kagawa prefecture.[3][4].
[edit] Cities
Thirty-three cities are located in Osaka Prefecture:
[edit] Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district.
[edit] Mergers
(as of 12/26/05)
- Mihara and Sakai (1 February 2005)
The town of Mihara merged into the city of Sakai. Since then Sakai has been split into wards of which Mihara is one.
- 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]
[edit] 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% from the 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]
Overshadowed by such globally renowned electronics giants as Matsushita 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 were 330,737, accounting for 99.6% of total number of businesses in the prefecture.[8] While this proportion is similar to other prefectures (nationwide average was 99.7%), the manufacturing shipment from the SMEs amounted to 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, 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.
[edit] Major companies
See Companies headquartered in Osaka.
[edit] Major factories and research institutes
See Hanshin Industrial Region and Kansai Science City.
[edit] 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]
[edit] Culture
[edit] Museums
- National Museum of Ethnology, Japan [2]
- Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farm Houses (Hattori Ryokuchi Park)
- OSTEC (Osaka Science and Technology Center) Exhibition Hall
- The Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Osaka [3]
[edit] Universities in Osaka Prefecture
- Kansai Medical University (Moriguchi, Osaka)
- Osaka University (Toyonaka and Suita)
- Osaka University of Foreign Studies (Minoh)
- Osaka Kyoiku University (Kashiwara)
- Osaka City University (Osaka city)
- Osaka Prefecture University (Sakai)
- Kansai University (Suita, Takatsuki, Osaka city)
- Kinki University (Higashiosaka)
- Kansai Gaidai University (Hirakata) (Kansai University of Foreign Studies)
[edit] Parks
- The Expo Memorial Park (Suita) It was held Expo '70 here. About 260 ha.There is The Japanese garden, National Museum of Art, Osaka and an amusement park "Expoland".
- Hattori Ryokuchi Park (Toyonaka) About 150 ha.
- Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park (Osaka city) About 100 ha.It was held Expo '90 of horticulture.[16]
- Nagai Park (Osaka city) About 66 ha. It is held The World Championships in Athletics games in 2007 at Nagai Stadium in this park.
- Osaka Castle Park (Osaka city) About 106 ha.
- Nakanoshima Park Park (Osaka city) There is The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, public hall (established in 1911,It is Neo-Renaissance architecture.), libraly (Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library : established in 1904,It is Neo-Baroque Architecture.) and The city hall of Osaka city. 11 ha.
[edit] Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Osaka.
Football (soccer)
Baseball
Basketball
- Osaka Evessa (Osaka city)
Volleyball
[edit] Transportation
Osaka Prefecture has three airports (Kansai International Airport, Osaka International Airport, and Yao Airport).
For more information about the railroad system, see Category:Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture (Osaka mass transit ).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Friendship relationships
Osaka Prefecture has sister-city type relationships with these eight locations:[17]
- Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shanghai in People's Republic of China
- Image:Flag of Indonesia.svg East Java in Indonesia
- Image:Flag of France.svg Val-d'Oise in France
- Image:Flag of Australia.svg Queensland in Australia
- Image:Flag of Russia.svg the Primorsky area of Russia
- Image:Flag of the United States.svg California in the United States
- Image:Flag of Italy.svg Lombardy in Italy
- Image:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai in the United Arab Emirates
[edit] 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.
[edit] Miscellaneous topics
- Osaka is the only unlandlocked prefecture that does not have any natural islands.
- There is a first shop of Conveyor belt sushi in Higashiosaka.,[18][citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ 大阪のあゆみ (History of Osaka) (Japanese). Retrieved on 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.
- ^ Tolbert, Kathryn. "Election of First Female Governor Boosts Japan's Ruling Party", The Washington Post, February 8, 2000.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Asahi Shimbun, Osaka edition, April 30th 2007, p. 1, 大阪唯一の村消える？ Ōsaka yuiitsu no mura kieru?
- ^ 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 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ 大阪府民経済計算 (Osaka Prefectural Economy based on 93SNA) Osaka Prefectural Government (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ 2006 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, Japan Small Business Research Institute (Japan) (English). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ なにわの経済データ (The Naniwa Economy Data) (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Astro-Technology SOHLA (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
- ^ Japan Advertising Council (English). Retrieved on 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]
- ^ "Smaller firms build a satellite" City of Osaka, Chicago Office (English). Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
- ^ The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
- ^ "Study of PETSAT" NEDO, 2005 (Japanese with English abstract). Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
- ^ Table 1: 大阪府の人口の推移 ( Population Change of Osaka Prefecture) (Japanese). Osaka Prefectural Government. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ http://www.expo90.jp/english/index.html
- ^ http://www.pref.osaka.jp/en/introduction/friend.html
- ^ introduction (japanese), retrieved March 14, 2007
[edit] External links
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| Cities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daitō | Fujiidera | Habikino | Hannan | Higashiōsaka | Hirakata | Ibaraki | Ikeda | Izumi | Izumiotsu | Izumisano | Kadoma | Kaizuka | Kashiwara | Katano | Kawachinagano | Kishiwada | Matsubara | Minoh | Moriguchi | Neyagawa | Osaka (capital) | Osakasayama | Sakai | Sennan | Settsu | Shijōnawate | Suita | Takaishi | Takatsuki | Tondabayashi | Toyonaka | Yao | |||
| Districts | |||
| Minamikawachi | Mishima | Senboku | Sennan | Toyono | |||
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Regions and administrative divisions of Japan |
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Regions Prefectures Designated cities |
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Categories: Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from August 2007 | All articles needing copy edit | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | Osaka | Visitor attractions in Osaka Prefecture | Osaka Prefecture | Kansai region | Prefectures of Japan
