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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)

The 23 special wards (特別区 tokubetsuku) are self-governing, special municipalities in the central and most populous part of Tokyo, Japan. They are classified as one of a kind in Japan, existing only in Tokyo. In Japanese, they are usually called nijūsanku (23 区), simply meaning "23 wards."

They are special because although they are autonomous with each having a local government, they must at the same time function seamlessly together as one large urban entity in central Tokyo. To this end, certain public services are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government instead of the individual ward. They include the water supply system, sewage, and fire services.

To finance the joint public services provided to the 23 wards, the metropolitan government levies some of the taxes that would normally be levied by city governments, and also makes transfer payments to wards that cannot finance their own local administration.

Wards (区 ku) are found in other major Japanese cities. Before 1943, the wards of Tokyo city were no different from the wards of Osaka or Kyoto. In 1943, when the Tokyo city government and prefectural government merged into a single metropolitan government, the wards were placed under the direct control of the metropolis.

Since the 1970s, the special wards of Tokyo have exercised a considerably higher degree of autonomy than the wards in other cities, making them more like independent cities than districts. Each special ward has its own elected mayor (区長 kuchō) and assembly (区議会 kugikai).

In 2000, the National Diet designated the special wards as local public entities (地方公共団体 chihō-kōkyō-dantai), giving them a status similar to cities. Since then, they have been calling themselves "cities" instead of wards in English, even though the Japanese designation of "ku" is unchanged. They have also taken over certain public services metropolitan government such as garbage collection and disposal.

The wards vary greatly in area (from 10 to 60km²) and population (from less than 40,000 to 830,000). Setagaya has the most people, while neighboring Ōta, the largest area.

The total population of the 23 special wards is 8.34 million (as of Sept. 1, 2003), about two-thirds of the population of Tokyo and a quarter of the population of the Greater Tokyo Area. The 23 wards have a population density of 13,333 per square kilometre (34,500 per sq. mile).

List of special wards

Name	Kanji	Population	Pop. Density (per km²)	Area (km²)	Major districts
Adachi	足立区	621,848	11,688.87	53.20	Kitasenju, Takenotsuka
Arakawa	荒川区	186,275	18,262.25	10.20	Arakawa, Nippori, Minamisenju
Bunkyō	文京区	181,065	16,009.28	11.31	Hongo, Yayoi, Hakusan
Chiyoda	千代田区	37,988	3,263.57	11.64	Nagatacho, Kasumigaseki, Otemachi, Marunouchi, Akihabara, Yurakucho, Iidabashi
Chūō	中央区	81,996	8,078.42	10.15	Ginza, Nihonbashi, Kachidoki
Edogawa	江戸川区	637,571	12,787.22	49.86	Kasai, Chuo
Itabashi	板橋区	525,969	16,349.67	32.17	Itabashi, Takashimadaira
Katsushika	葛飾区	426,403	12,238.89	34.84	Tateishi, Aoto, Koiwa
Kita	北区	327,086	15,885.67	20.59	Akabane, Oji, Tabata
Kōtō	江東区	398,805	10,111.69	39.44	Kiba, Ariake, Kameido, Toyocho
Meguro	目黒区	255,833	17,403.61	14.70	Meguro, Nakameguro, Jiyugaoka
Minato	港区	167,098	8,215.24	20.34	Odaiba, Shinbashi, Shinagawa, Roppongi, Toranomon, Aoyama, Azabu, Hamamatsucho, Tamachi
Nakano	中野区	313,325	20,097.82	15.59	Nakano
Nerima	練馬区	674,826	14,012.17	48.16	Nerima, Oizumi, Hikarigaoka
Ōta	大田区	661,157	11,119.36	59.46	Omori, Kamata, Haneda
Setagaya	世田谷区	829,624	14,284.16	58.08	Setagaya, Sangenchaya, Shimokitazawa, Tamagawa
Shibuya	渋谷区	201,524	13,337.13	15.11	Shibuya, Harajuku, Yoyogi, Ebisu, Hiroo
Shinagawa	品川区	332,536	14,636.27	22.72	Shinagawa, Oimachi, Gotanda
Shinjuku	新宿区	297,135	16,299.23	18.23	Shinjuku, Takadanobaba, Okubo, Kagurazaka
Suginami	杉並区	530,307	15,588.10	34.02	Koenji, Kamiogi, Asagaya
Sumida	墨田区	221,093	16,079.49	13.75	Kinshicho
Toshima	豊島区	252,764	19,428.44	13.01	Ikebukuro, Senkawa, Komagome
Taitō	台東区	162,685	16,139.38	10.08	Ueno, Asakusa

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