Subprefectures of Hokkaido

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Hokkaido Prefecture had 14 branch offices called 支庁 (shichō) in Japanese, which is often translated in English as subprefectures. Normally, a subprefecture consists of a few to a dozen cities, towns, and/or villages.

For historical reasons, some older people in Hokkaido use the subprefecture name suffixed by -kannai in their address.

History of shichō in Hokkaido

1897 Nineteen shichō were placed under Hokkaido Agency (an agency of the national government): Sapporo, Hakodate, Kameda, Matsumae, Hiyama, Suttsu, Iwanai, Otaru, Sorachi, Kamikawa, Mashike, Souya, Abashiri, Muroran, Urakawa, Kushiro, Kasai, Nemuro, and Shana.
1899 Sapporo-ku, Hakodate-ku, and Otaru-ku were established as municipalities independent of shichō. Sapporo-shichō and Otaru-shichō were continued with remaining area, but Hakodate-shichō was dissolved. Previous Kameda-shichō was renamed Hokodate-shichō.
1903 Matsumae-shichō was merged with Hakodate-shichō. Shana-shichō was merged with Nemuro-shichō.
1910 Suttsu-shichō, Iwanai-shichō, and Otaru-shichō were merged to form Shiribeshi-shichō.
1914 Asahikawa-ku was established as a municipality independent of Kamikawa-shichō. Mashike-shichō was renamed as Rumoi-shichō.
1918 Muroran-ku was established as a municipality independent of Muroran-shichō.
1920 Kushiro-ku was established as a municipality independent of Kushiro-shichō.
1922 The six ku were restated as shi (cities). Sapporo-shichō was renamed Ishikari-shichō. Hakodate-shichō was renamed Oshima-shichō. Muroran-shichō was renamed Iburi-shichō.
1932 Urakawa-shichō was renamed Hidaka-shichō. Kasai-shichō was renamed Tokachi-shichō.
1947 Hokkaido Agency was abolished and Hokkaido Prefecture was established. Hokkaido Prefecture took over shichō.

Today, fourteen shichō effectively cover all of Hokkaido. Technically, the shichō cover only towns and villages, although some commissioned business is conducted for cities.

List of subprefectures

See also: List of mergers in Hokkaido
1
a
2
3
b
4
c
5
d
6
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9
e
(disputed)
(disputed)
Subprefecture Japanese Capital Largest City Pop.
(2009)		 Area
(km²)		 Municipalities
1 Sorachi 空知総合振興局 Iwamizawa Iwamizawa 338,485 5,791.19 10 cities 14 towns
a ↳ Ishikari 石狩振興局 Sapporo Sapporo 2,324,878 3,539.86 6 cities 1 towns 1 villages
2 Shiribeshi 後志総合振興局 Kutchan Otaru 234,984 4,305.83 1 cities 13 towns 6 villages
3 Iburi 胆振総合振興局 Muroran Tomakomai 419,115 3,698.00 4 cities 7 towns
b ↳ Hidaka 日高振興局 Urakawa Shinhidaka 76,084 4,811.97 7 towns
4 Oshima 渡島総合振興局 Hakodate Hakodate 433,475 3,936.46 2 cities 9 towns
c ↳ Hiyama 檜山振興局 Esashi Setana 43,210 2,629.94 7 towns
5 Kamikawa 上川総合振興局 Asahikawa Asahikawa 527,575 10,619.20 4 cities 17 towns 2 villages
d ↳ Rumoi 留萌振興局 Rumoi Rumoi 53,916 3,445.75 1 cities 6 towns 1 villages
6 Sōya 宗谷総合振興局 Wakkanai Wakkanai 71,423 4,625.09 1 cities 8 towns 1 villages
7 Okhotsk オホーツク総合振興局 Abashiri Kitami 309,487 10,690.62 3 cities 14 towns 1 villages
8 Tokachi 十勝総合振興局 Obihiro Obihiro 353,291 10,831.24 1 cities 16 towns 2 villages
9 Kushiro 釧路総合振興局 Kushiro Kushiro 252,571 5,997.38 1 cities 6 towns 1 villages
e ↳ Nemuro 根室振興局 Nemuro Nemuro 84,035 3,406.23 1 cities 4 towns
Japan claims the southern part of Kuril Islands (Northern Territories), currently administered by Russia,
belong to Nemuro Subprefecture divided into six villages. However, the table above excludes these islands' data.

Reorganization

The prefectural government of Hokkaido planned to reorganize the current 14 subprefectures into 9 subprefectural bureaus. Five subprefectures, namely Hidaka, Hiyama, Ishikari, Nemuro, and Rumoi were subject to be cut down. The capital municipalities of these subprefectures opposed the plan, but on June 28, 2008, the prefectural council passed the ordinance of the reorganization.[1] The change should have taken effect in April 2009.

However, it was impossible to make the reform on time. The Public Offices Election Act and the Election Law were not amended on April 1, 2009, but the amendment the Public Offices Election Act was passed in the prefectural assembly on March 31, 2009 and took effect from April 1, 2010.

List of subprefectural bureaus

  • Sorachi General Subprefectural Bureau (空知総合振興局), Iwamizawa, covering Ishikari and Sorachi areas. (Horokanai belongs to Kamikawa Subprefectural Bureau.)
    • Ishikari Subprefectural Bureau (石狩振興局), Sapporo, covering Ishikari area
  • Shiribeshi General Subprefectural Bureau (後志総合振興局), Kutchan, covering Shiribeshi area
  • Iburi General Subprefectural Bureau (胆振総合振興局), Muroran, covering Iburi and Hidaka areas
    • Hidaka Subprefectural Bureau (日高振興局), Urakawa, covering Hidaka area
  • Oshima General Subprefectural Bureau (渡島総合振興局), Hakodate, covering Oshima and Hiyama areas
    • Hiyama Subprefectural Bureau (檜山振興局), Esashi, covering Hiyama area
  • Kamikawa General Subprefectural Bureau (上川総合振興局), Asahikawa, covering Kamikawa and Rumoi areas
    • Rumoi Subprefectural Bureau (留萌振興局), Rumoi, covering Rumoi area. (Horonobe belongs to Soya Subprefectural Bureau.)
  • Sōya General Subprefectural Bureau (宗谷総合振興局), Wakkanai, covering Sōya area
  • Okhotsk General Subprefectural Bureau (オホーツク総合振興局), Abashiri, covering Abashiri area
  • Tokachi General Subprefectural Bureau (十勝総合振興局), Obihiro, covering Tokachi area
  • Kushiro General Subprefectural Bureau (釧路総合振興局), Kushiro, covering Kushiro and Nemuro areas
    • Nemuro Subprefectural Bureau (根室振興局), Nemuro, covering Nemuro area

References

  1. ↑ (Japanese) 釧路支庁が道東総合振興局に、道の支庁改革条例成立 (Kushiro Subprefecture will be Dōtō General Development Bureau, the ordinance for the subprefetural reformation is passed), by Kushiro Shinbun, June 29, 2008

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