The Structure of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG)

Japan’s Local Government System

  The local government system in Japan consists of two tiers: prefectures and the municipalities that make up the prefectures. Prefectures and municipalities are both local public entities of equal status and cooperate in local administration according to their respective responsibilities.

  Prefectures are regional authorities comprising municipalities, and are in charge of broader regional administration. Japan is made up of 47 prefectures and Tokyo is one of these regional authorities.

  Municipalities are local public entities that have a strong and direct relationship with residents and handle affairs directly related to them. As of January 1, 2025, there are 792 cities (including Designated Cities), 743 towns, and 189 villages in Japan. There are no essential differences between cities, towns, and villages in their responsibilities. To be recognized as a city, a municipality must have a population of 50,000 or more, and must meet various other requirements as well. Towns must also meet certain conditions prescribed by prefectural ordinances.

  In addition to ordinary local public entities such as prefectures and municipalities, there are special local public entities that have been established for specific objectives relating to local government. These include special wards, cooperatives, and regional associations. While the special wards, which are only found in Tokyo, are, in principle, subject to the same regulations that apply to cities, the system was specifically designed to meet the distinctive needs of a large metropolis.

TMG and the 23 Special Wards

  Tokyo is a regional government encompassing 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages. However, reflecting the dense population, urban contiguity, and other realities of the 23 specialward area, a unique administrative system exists between the metropolitan government and the wards, which differs from the typical relationship between prefectures and municipalities.

  This system balances the need to maintain unified administration and control across the whole of the ward area and the need to have the local ward governments, which are nearer to the residents, handle everyday affairs. Specifically, in the 23 wards, the metropolitan government takes on some of the administrative responsibilities of a “city,” such as water supply and sewerage services, and firefighting in order to ensure the provision of uniform, efficient services, while the wards have the autonomy to independently handle affairs close to the lives of the residents.

  The special-ward system underwent a number of reforms to become what it is today. The wards were formerly positioned as special local public entities within Tokyo Metropolis, but with the aim to enhance their independence and autonomy, the system was reformed to reposition the wards as basic local public entities from the year 2000. In addition, the Metropolitan-Ward Council was established as a consultative body for communication and coordination between the metropolitan government and the wards. Through the meetings of this council, the metropolitan government and the wards continuously hold discussions on matters such as the ideal form of relations between the two entities.

TMG Financial Adjustment System for the
Special Wards

  Pursuant to laws and regulations, the metropolitan government makes financial adjustments both between itself and the wards and among the wards themselves. In the ward area, the metropolitan government and wards share responsibilities for managing affairs and administration, and thus also share the tax revenue sources required for the costs incurred. A fixed proportion of corporate inhabitant tax, fixed assets tax, and special land possession tax, which are municipal taxes collected by the metropolitan government, and of the amount eligible for corporate business tax allocation and the special grant to compensate for diminished revenues in fixed assets tax, is allocated to the ward governments. The financial adjustment among the 23 special wards is also designed to redress imbalances in an individual ward’s fiscal revenues due to uneven distribution of financial resources. When a ward’s basic fiscal need exceeds its basic fiscal revenues, the difference is made up in the form of allocations from the metropolitan government.

TMG and the Municipalities

  In addition to the 23 special wards mentioned above, the Tokyo Metropolis also contains 39 municipalities—26 cities (shi), 5 towns (machi) and 8 villages (mura)—that are ordinary local public entities. The administrative and financial systems for the metropolitan government and its municipalities are the same as those for other prefectures. The government and its individual municipalities work on equal footing in performing their respective functions: the former handling the broader administrative work and the latter providing services closer to the everyday lives of local residents. This integrated process is distinguished by the following elements.

Management of Services

Firefighting Services, Waterworks

  Firefighting services and waterworks are affairs that are generally designated under law as municipal services. In the Tokyo Metropolis, however, from the view that these services can be handled more efficiently on a broader scale and such an approach would also serve to lessen the financial burden, the metropolitan government provides all of these services except in certain municipalities.

Joint Operations

  As with the aforementioned operations, for services that can be handled with greater effectiveness and efficiency from a regional approach, relevant municipalities establish cooperatives and regional associations serving as special local public entities, based on the stipulations of the Local Autonomy Act.

  The number of such cooperatives in the municipalities is 29 and they manage a broad range of affairs, which include the establishment and management of waste disposal sites and incineration plants, the operation of public hospitals, and profitmaking projects.

  There is currently one regional association made up of all the metropolitan municipalities and wards; it handles the administrative affairs of the medical care system for the elderly.

TMG Assistance Programs

  Each municipality is seeking efficient administrative and fiscal management through efforts such as constant review of service operations in order to meet diversifying demands, which include measures for declining birthrates and a growing elderly population, and the development of a safe and secure community. The future state of administrative and fiscal operations of each municipality cannot be foreseen, however, due to increases in mandatory spending, including child welfare programs and public assistance. There is even the possibility that some municipalities will face further difficulties.

  The metropolitan government promotes measures aimed at tackling the challenges faced by the Tama area and the outlying islands, and also furnishes assistance tailored to the administrative requirements of each individual municipality.

  The metropolitan government takes an active stance in promoting regional administration through various supportive measures such as financial assistance in the form of TMG-disbursed funding and loans, and technical advice to upgrade regional sewerage systems.

Organizational Structure of TMG

Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly

Composition

  The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is made up of 127 members directly elected by Tokyo citizens to serve a term of four years.

The President

  The President of the Assembly is elected from among its members. The President represents the Assembly, presides over its sessions, and supervises its affairs. He or she also expresses the Assembly’s opinions externally. As a support organization for the Assembly, a Secretariat is provided and the President is empowered to appoint and dismiss its staff members.

Committees

  Because the structure and roles of the metropolitan administration are vast, varied, and complex, in order to ensure thorough discussion and efficient proceedings, the Assembly establishes committees for specialized study and discussion. The committees are divided into standing committees and special committees set up by the Assembly to consider specific subjects.

Authority of the Assembly

  The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is the formal decision-making organ of Tokyo Metropolis. It has the authority to, among other things, enact, amend, and repeal metropolitan ordinances, approve the budget and certify its settlement, and elect members of the Election Administration Commission and other such bodies. In addition, the consent of the Assembly must be sought for important appointments, nominations, and other designations made by the Governor such as those of a Vice Governor or administrative commission member. Representing the people of Tokyo, the Assembly also has the powers to investigate and inspect all aspects of the metropolitan government.

Executive Organs

The Governor

  The Governor is directly elected by the citizens, and represents the Metropolis of Tokyo. With a four-year term of office, he or she has overall control of metropolitan affairs, and the authority and responsibility for managing the metropolitan administration.

Executive Support

  To provide executive support, vice governors and staff members are positioned to deal with the affairs under the authority of the governor. A total of 167,804 positions have been approved as of August 1, 2025, for these staff members. (Breakdown: Governor’s bureaus, 19,558; secretariats to administrative commissions and the Assembly, 1,145; public enterprises, 12,823; police/firefighting, 65,375; school teachers and administrative staff, 68,903.)

Personnel

Recruitment

  The Personnel Commission usually holds examinations for the recruitment of new staff, and candidates who pass the examinations are employed by the Governor and other officials who have appointive powers. In some occupations like nursing, specially authorized officials directly conduct exams and employ personnel.

  Recruitment examinations are conducted after being publicly announced to ensure wide public awareness, and they include written examinations and interviews. These examinations are split into different levels according to the difficulty of the questions. The examinations are completely open to everyone on an equal basis regardless of gender, academic background, or social position.

  Nationality requirements on 44 out of 73 positions have been removed, opening up employment opportunities to foreign nationals. To accelerate the employment of disabled persons, examinations are held in braille or using enlarged print, and recruitment targeting individuals with disabilities is held.

Appointment

  The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s personnel appointment system is based on ability and job performance. Through a fair and impartial selection process, promotion to deputy director and managerial positions is based on personal efforts and merit, rather than academic background or the category an individual was originally hired under.

  According to individual career aspirations, “generalization” or “specialization” can be chosen, resulting in a variety of paths for promotion. Young senior staff members are eligible to take the “Managerial Position Selection A” test, and if selected, they are trained to assume managerial positions requiring a metropolitan administration-wide perspective. Team leaders and deputy directors are eligible to take the “Managerial Position Selection B” test, which selects personnel based on their experience and achievements for managerial positions centering on their area of specialty. There is also a selection process for specialists to take on managerial positions in specific areas.

Human Resource Development

  In order to respond to the increasingly sophisticated and complex needs of Tokyo residents for administrative services, as well as to develop human resources possessing a high level of knowledge, ability, and experience who can cope with the various challenges Tokyo faces, the metropolitan government has drawn up a set of basic guidelines aimed at developing metropolitan government personnel. Under these guidelines, efforts are taken to manage personnel with a focus on human resource development; this includes human resource deployment, training, and performance evaluation.

  The basic approach taken to enhance employee training is to shape individual staff capabilities to match organization needs, and to respond to employee motivation for skill improvement, developing individual capabilities to the fullest. From this perspective, the metropolitan government is implementing a practical and comprehensive human resource development program that effectively combines (1) on-the-job training through daily duties in the workplace, (2) off-the-job training undertaken away from daily duties, and (3) personal development through self-education.

Organization of the TMG (as of April 1, 2026)