Capital of Japan

While no laws have designated Tokyo as the Japanese capital, many laws have defined a "capital area" (首都圏, shuto-ken) that incorporates Tokyo. Article 2 of the Metropolitan Area Readjustment Act (首都圏整備法) of 1956 states: "In this Act, the term 'capital area' shall denote a broad region comprising both the territory of the Tokyo Metropolis as well as outlying regions designated by cabinet order." This implies that the government has designated Tokyo as the capital of Japan, although (again) it is not explicitly stated, and the definition of the "capital area" is purposely restricted to the terms of that specific law.^[4]

Other laws referring to the "capital area" include the Capital Expressway Public Corporation Law (首都高速道路公団法),^[5] the Capital Area Greenbelt Preservation Law (首都圏近郊緑地保全法), the Act on Arrangement of Suburban Development and Redevelopment Areas and Urban Development Areas in Metropolitan Area (首都圏の近郊整備地帯及び都市開発区域の整備に関する法律), the Act on State's Special Financial Measures on Arrangement of Suburban Development and Redevelopment Areas, etc. in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Kinki Area and Chubu Area (首都圏、近畿圏及び中部圏の近郊整備地帯等の整備のための国の財政上の特別措置に関する法律), and the Special Measurements for Greater Tokyo Area earthquakes Law (首都直下地震対策特別措置法).^[6][7]

In February 2018, Seiji Osaka, a member of the House of Representatives, asked the government where the capital of Japan is. In response, Shinzo Abe stated that while no laws define the capital of Japan, they believed that "the capital of Japan is Tokyo is widely accepted by the people".^[8][9]

Traditionally, the home of the Emperor is considered the capital. From 794 through 1868, the Emperor lived in Heian-kyō, modern-day Kyoto.^[10][11] After 1868, the seat of the Government of Japan and the location of the Emperor's home was moved to Edo, which it renamed Tokyo.^[12] This term for capital was never used to refer to Kyoto. Indeed, shuto came into use during the 1860s as a gloss of the English term "capital".

In 1941, the Ministry of Education published the "designation of Tokyo as capital" (東京奠都, Tōkyō-tento).^[13] The Ministry of Education published a book called "History of the Restoration" in 1941. This book referred to "designating Tokyo as capital" (東京奠都, Tōkyō-tento) without talking about "relocating the capital to Tokyo" (東京遷都, Tōkyō-sento). A contemporary history textbook states that the Meiji government "moved the capital (shuto) from Kyoto to Tokyo" without using the sento term.^[13]

The proposals to move the capital were conceptualized in 1979, and 16 years later, in 1995, the parliament voted to move the capital away from Tokyo to a place no more than 180 miles and 40 minutes away from the airport, which was planned to be completed in 2010.^[14][15] In 1999, the following sites were proposed: Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures, north of Tokyo; the second candidate is Gifu and Aichi prefectures, south of Tokyo; and the panel recommended the third region near the ancient capitals, Nara, Kyoto, and Shiga prefectures.^[16] These plans did not include moving the Imperial Palace, so they were not seen as moving the capital city but rather transferring the government functions. Ryutaro Hashimoto explicitly denied the possibility of moving the capital city (i.e. moving the Imperial Palace) in 1996.^[17][18] The plans for moving were not made later on.

As of 2007, there is a movement to transfer the government functions of the capital from Tokyo while retaining Tokyo as the de facto capital, with the Gifu-Aichi region, the Mie-Kio region and other regions submitting bids for a de jure capital. Officially, the relocation is referred to as "capital functions relocation" instead of "capital relocation", or as "relocation of the Diet and other organizations".^[19][20]

In 2023, the Government of Japan moved the Agency for Cultural Affairs to Kyoto. This was the first time that a central government office has been relocated outside Tokyo since Tokyo was designated as the capital.^[21][22]

• Hiraizumi was the capital of totally independent Northern Fujiwara polity (Ōshū) based in Tōhoku region, having defeated Emishi tribes. This polity existed as Kyoto's internal politics prevented Kyoto's authority from 1100 to 1189.
• Hakodate was the capital of the short lived Republic of Ezo (1869)
• Shuri was the capital of Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1879) and Urasoe was capital of Chuzan from at least 1350, which predated the Ryukyu Kingdom.

• List of capitals and largest cities by country