Wards of Japan

This article is part
of the series:
Administrative divisions of Japan
Regional level
Regions
(地方; Chihō)
Prefectural level
Prefectures
(都道府県; To-dō-fu-ken )
Subprefectural level
Subprefectures
(支庁; Shichō)
Designated Cities
(政令指定都市; Seirei-shitei-toshi)
Districts
(郡; Gun)
Municipal level
Core Cities
(中核市; Chūkaku-shi)
Special Cities
(特例市; Tokurei-shi)
Cities
(市; Shi)
Special Wards
(特別区; Tokubetsu-ku)
Wards

(区; Ku)

Towns
(町; Chō / Machi)
Villages
(村; Son / Mura)
A ku (区), translated as ward, is a district in a large Japanese city. Wards are used to subdivide each city designated by government ordinance, as well as Tokyo (where the "23 special wards" have a quasi-municipal status).

Outside of Tokyo, wards are local entities directly controlled by the municipal government. They handle administrative functions such as koseki registration, health insurance, and property taxation. Many wards have affiliated residents' organizations for a number of tasks, although these do not have any legal authority per se.

List of wards

See also: Wards of Japan, 23 special wards, Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Administrative divisions of Japan, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Asakita-ku, Hiroshima, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo