Special wards of Tokyo

Special wards of Tokyo 東京特別区
Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's special wards
Map of Tokyo with special wards in green
Country	Japan
Island	Honshu
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tokyo
Area [1]
• Special wards	627.51 km2 (242.28 sq mi)
Population  (January 1, 2024)
• Special wards	9,878,284
• Density	15,742/km2 (40,770/sq mi)

The special wards (特別区, tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities. With a land area of 627 km² (242 sq mi), it is about three-quarters the size of Singapore. As of 2024, it has a population of almost 10 million, with a density of about 15,742 people/km² (40,770 people/sq mi).

Although the autonomy law today allows for special wards to be established in other prefectures, to date they exist only in Tokyo, which consists of 23 special wards and 39 other, ordinary municipalities (cities, towns, and villages).^[2] The special wards of Tokyo occupy the land that was once the core Tokyo City in its 1936 borders before it was abolished under the Tōjō Cabinet in 1943 to become directly ruled by the prefectural government, then renamed to "Metropolitan". During the Occupation of Japan, municipal autonomy was restored to former Tokyo City by the establishment of special wards, each with directly elected mayor and assembly, as in any other city, town or village in Tokyo and the rest of the country.

In Japanese, they are collectively also known as "Wards area of Tokyo Metropolis" (東京都区部, Tōkyō-to kubu), "former Tokyo City" (旧東京市, kyū-Tōkyō-shi), or less formally the 23 wards (23区, nijūsan-ku) or just Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō) if the context makes obvious that this does not refer to the whole prefecture. Most of Tokyo's prominent infrastructures are located within the special wards. Today, all wards refer to themselves as a city in English, but the Japanese designation of special ward (tokubetsu-ku) remains unchanged. They are a group of 23 municipalities; there is no associated single government body separate from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which governs all 62 municipalities of Tokyo, not just the special wards.