Osaka Prefecture
is part of the
Kinki region on
Honshu island,
Japan. The capital is the city of
Osaka.
*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.
Cities
33 cities are located on Osaka Prefecture.
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each
district.
Mergers
(as of 12/26/05)*
Merger: Mihara and Sakai (1 February 2005)The town of
Mihara merged into the city of
Sakai.
*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 and
Glico.
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.
Universities in Osaka Prefecture
*
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) (aka Kansai University of Foreign Studies)
Osaka-fu has three
airports (
Kansai International Airport,
Osaka International Airport, and
Yao Airport).
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.
* Until the reclamation of the
Kansai International Airport island, Osaka was the smallest prefecture by area; it is now merely the second-smallest.
* Osaka is the only unlandlocked prefecture that does not have any natural islands.
* In 2000, Osaka became the first prefecture in Japan to elect a woman governor.
*
Official Osaka Prefecture homepage*
Osaka Tourism & Convention Guidance homepage 
