Osaka Prefecture

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**Osaka Prefecture (大阪府 *Ōsaka-fu*)**

Capital	Osaka (city)
Region	Kinki
Island	Honshū
Governor	Fusae Ota
Area	1,892.86 km² (46^th)
- % water	17.9%
Population (October 1, 2000)
- Population	8,815,757 (2^nd)
- Density	4,657 /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)
Symbol of Osaka Prefecture

Osaka Prefecture (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu^?) is part of the Kinki region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
- 5.1 Universities in Osaka Prefecture
6 Tourism
7 Prefectural symbols
8 Miscellaneous topics
9 External links

[edit] History

September 1, 1956: Osaka City is promoted a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 24 wards.

Knock Yokoyama became governor of Osaka Prefecture in 1995 but resigned in 2000 following allegations of sexual harassment. He was replaced by Fusae Ota.

April 1, 2006: Sakai City is promoted a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 7 wards.

[edit] Geography

Map of Osaka Prefecture.

[edit] Cities

Thirty-three cities are located in Osaka Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Toyono District
- Nose
- Toyono

[edit] Mergers

(as of 12/26/05)

Merger: Mihara and Sakai (1 February 2005)

The town of Mihara merged into the city of Sakai.

[edit] Economy

Gross prefectural product: ¥40.9 trillion
Annual industrial output: ¥17.2 trillion
Annual retail sales: ¥76.6 trillion

Major companies based in Osaka Prefecture include Hankyu, Kintetsu, Matsushita, Sharp, Sanyo, Nissin, Suntory and Glico.

[edit] Demographics

The population of Osaka Prefecture taken during the 2000 National Census is 8,804,806, or about seven percent of the total population of Japan, ranking second after Tokyo Prefecture.

[edit] Culture

[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] Tourism

Osaka-fu has three airports (Kansai International Airport, Osaka International Airport, and Yao Airport).

[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

Until the reclamation of the Kansai International Airport island, Osaka was the smallest prefecture by area; it is now merely the second-smallest^{[citation needed]}.