The 47 prefectures of Japan form Japan's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They consist of 43 prefectures (県 ken?) proper, two urban prefectures (府 fu ?, Osaka and Kyoto), one "circuit" or "territory" (道 dō ?, Hokkaido) and one "metropolis" (都 to ?, Tokyo). The first prefectures, replacing the provinces of Japan, were created by the Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration in 1868.[1]
The chief executive of each prefecture is a directly-elected governor (知事 chiji?). Ordinances and budgets are enacted by a unicameral assembly (議会 gikai?) whose members are elected for four-year terms.
Under the current Local Autonomy Law, each prefecture is further divided into cities (市 shi?) and districts (郡 gun?) and each district into towns (町 chō/machi?) and villages (村 son/mura?). For example, Hokkaido has 14 subprefectures which act as branch offices (支庁 shichō?) of the prefecture. Some other prefectures also have branch offices, which carry out prefectural administrative functions outside the capital. Tokyo, the capital, is a merged city-prefecture; it has features of both cities and prefectures.