Local Autonomy Act in the context of "Minato, Tokyo"

The 23 special wards (特別区, tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo are a unique form of municipality under Japan's 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy. Together, they cover 627 km (242 sq mi) and, as of 2024, house roughly 9.8 million residents, yielding a density of about 15,742 people/km (40,770 people/sq mi). Similar ward systems are legally possible in other prefectures, but none have been established.

Tokyo's 23 special wards unite with 39 ordinary municipalities (cities, towns and villages) to their west to form Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture. Without the ordinary municipalities the special wards account for what was the core Tokyo City, before this was abolished in 1943 under the Tōjō Cabinet. It was four years later, during the Occupation of Japan, that autonomy was restored to Tokyo City by means of the special wards, each being given a directly elected mayor and assembly like all other cities, towns and villages in Japan.

The bureaucratic administration of Japan is divided into three basic levels: national, prefectural, and municipal. They are defined by the Local Autonomy Act of 1947.

Below the national government there are 47 prefectures, six of which are further subdivided into subprefectures to better service large geographical areas or remote islands.

Bunkyō (文京区, Bunkyō-ku) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there. Bunkyō is home to the Tokyo Dome, Judo's Kōdōkan, and the University of Tokyo's Hongo Campus.

It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and Koishikawa wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Bunkyo ward exhibits contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Nezu [ja] and Sendagi [ja] neighborhoods in the ward's eastern corner are attached to the Shitamachi area in Ueno. On the other hand, the remaining areas of the ward typically represent Yamanote districts.

Chūō (中央区, Chūō-ku; Japanese pronunciation: [tɕɯː.oː, tɕɯː.oꜜː, tɕɯː.oꜜː.kɯ]) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself in English as Chūō City. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis.

Chūō-ku, as a combination of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo. The name Chūō literally means "Central Ward," and it has historically been Tokyo’s main commercial center. However, since the end of World War II, Shinjuku and Shibuya in the west have risen to challenge that position. This is reflected in the fact that Chūō is located entirely outside the Yamanote Line loop, which is now regarded as the inner core of central Tokyo.