Tokyo

Tokyo (/ˈtoʊkioʊ/;[8] Japanese: 東京, Tōkyō, [toːkʲoː] ⓘ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to), is the capital of Japan and one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over 14 million residents as of 2023.[9] The Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Tokyo and nearby prefectures, is the world's most-populous metropolitan area, with 40.8 million residents as of 2023[update],[10] and is the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world after New York, with a 2022 gross metropolitan product estimated at US$2.08 trillion (US$51,124 per capita).[11] Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, Tokyo is part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers Tokyo's central 23 special wards (which formerly made up Tokyo City), various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area, and two outlying island chains known as the Tokyo Islands. Despite most of the world knowing Tokyo as a city, since 1943 its governing structure has been more akin to a prefecture, with an accompanying Governor and Assembly taking precedence over the smaller municipal governments which make up the metropolis.