A town (町; chō or machi) is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture (ken or other equivalents), city (shi), and village (mura). Geographically, a town is contained within a district.
The same word (町; machi or chō) is also used in names of smaller regions, usually a part of a ward in a city. This is a legacy of when smaller towns were formed on the outskirts of a city, only to eventually merge into it.
Mizuho (瑞穂町, Mizuho-machi) is a town located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 1 March 2021, the town had an estimated population of 32,458, and a population density of 1900 persons per km². The total area of the town is 16.85 square kilometres (6.51 sq mi).
Western Tokyo, known as the Tama area (多摩地域, Tama chiiki), Tama region (多摩地方, Tama-chihō) or toka (都下) locally, in the Tokyo Metropolis consists of 30 ordinary municipalities (cities (市 shi), towns (町 machi) and one village (村 mura)), unlike the eastern part which consists of 23 special wards.
Before it was transferred to Tokyo in 1893, the Tama area, then also still often referred to as the "three Tama" (三多摩, san-Tama) (referring to the West, North and South Tama counties it consisted of) had formed the Northern part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
A city (市, shi) is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as towns (町, machi) and villages (村, mura), with the difference that they are not a component of districts (郡, gun). Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947.
A village (村, mura, son) is a local administrative unit in Japan.
It is a local public body along with prefecture (県, ken; or other equivalents), city (市, shi), and town (町, chō, machi). Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a prefecture. Villages are larger than a local settlement; each is a subdivision of rural district (郡, gun), which are subdivided into towns and villages with no overlap and no uncovered area. As a result of mergers and elevation to higher statuses, the number of villages in Japan is decreasing.
In Japan, a district (郡, gun) is composed of one or more rural municipalities (towns or villages) within a prefecture. Districts have no governing function, and are only used for geographic or statistical purposes such as mailing addresses. Cities are not part of districts.
Historically, districts have at times functioned as an administrative unit. From 1878 to 1921 district governments were roughly equivalent to a county of the United States, ranking below prefecture and above town or village, on the same level as a city. District governments were entirely abolished by 1926.
Hinode (日の出町, Hinode-machi) is a town located in the western portion of Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 April 2021, the town had an estimated population of 16,563, and a population density of 590 persons per km. The total area of the town is 28.07 square kilometres (10.84 sq mi).
Okutama (奥多摩町, Oku-Tama-machi) is a town located in the western portion of Tokyo Prefecture, Japan, at a distance of roughly 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of Tokyo Imperial Palace. As of 1 April 2021, the town had an estimated population of 4,949, and a population density of 22 persons per km. The total area of the town is 225.53 square kilometres (87.08 sq mi).
Yonaguni (Japanese: 与那国島, Hepburn: Yonaguni-jima; Yonaguni: Dunan-chima, older Juni-shima; Yaeyama: Yunoon-zïma; Okinawan: Yunaguni-jima), one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost island of Japan, lying between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. A mere 107.4 kilometers (58.0 nmi; 66.7 mi) separate the island from Taiwan at their closest points. It is administered as the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa, and there are three settlements: Sonai, Kubura, and Higawa. There have been discussions to establish direct ferry services with Taiwan in order to bolster tourism.