Japan Cities by Population 2026

Japan Overview

The largest city in Japan is Tokyo, with a population of 10,316,210 people.

Despite being just the 61st largest country in the world by area, Japan is ranked 12th when it comes to size according to population. Many of its most populous cities are very densely populated, and the country is currently declining at about 0.55% annually. Its largest city, Tokyo, has over 10.3M residents, while there are 13 additional cities that have populations that exceed 1 million. Japan has a total of 684 populated areas that are named as cities, while it also has 20 designated cities, 42 core cities and 40 special cities.

To better understand the cities of Japan, it is important to know how they are categorized. Designated cities have a minimum population of 500,000 and have been designated under an order by the Cabinet of Japan. Most of the functions performed by a prefectural government are designated to the city itself, and this includes roles in public education, sanitation and urban planning. The next class of cities in Japan is the core city. Core cities must have a population of 300,000 and an area that exceeds 100 square kilometers. These cities have many of the functions of designated cities with some exceptions. In some cases, cities with populations between 200,000 and 300,000 may qualify as a core city. Finally, special cities have a minimum population of 200,000 and is responsible for some functions performed by a prefectural government. However, these are a subset of responsibilities carried out by core cities.