 Osaka Prefecture (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu?)
- A prefecture located in
the Kinki region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The
capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.
Osaka Prefecture neighbors the prefectures of Hyōgo and
Kyoto in the north, Nara in the east and Wakayama in the
south. The west is open to Osaka Bay. The Yodo and Yamato
Rivers flow through the prefecture.
Osaka used to be the smallest prefecture prior to the
construction of Kansai International Airport. The artificial
island on which the airport was built added enough area to
make it the second-smallest after Kagawa prefecture..
 Osaka Prefecture was created in 1868, at the very beginning
of Meiji era.
On September 1, 1956, the city of Osaka was promoted to a
city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided
into 24 wards.
In 2000, Fusae Ota (太田 房江), was the first female to become a
governor in Japan, replacing the former Knock Yokoyama, who
resigned after having been prosecuted for sexual
harassment..
On April 1, 2006: the city of Sakai was promoted to a city
designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into
7 wards.
The gross prefecture product of Osaka for the fiscal year
2004 was ¥38.7 trillion, second after Tokyo with an increase
of 0.9% from the previous year. This represented
approximately 48% of the Kinki region. The per capita income
was ¥3.0 million, 7th in the nation. Commercial sales the
same year was ¥60.1 trillion.
Overshadowed by such globally renowned electronics giants as
Matsushita and Sharp, the other side of Osaka's economy can
be characterized by its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
activities. The number of SMEs based in Osaka in 2006 were
330,737, accounting for 99.6% of total number of businesses
in the prefecture. While this proportion is similar to
other prefectures (nationwide average was 99.7%), the
manufacturing shipment from the SMEs amounted to 65.4% of
the total within the prefecture, a significantly higher rate
compared to Tokyo's 55.5%, or Kanagawa's 38.4%. One of
the popularly highlighted model from Osaka serving the
public interest of re-stimulting regional economy, combined
with industry-education cooperation efforts is the Astro-Technology
SOHLA, with is struggling artificial satellite
project. Having originally started from a gathering of
Higashiosaka based SMEs, Astro-Technology SOHLA, has not
only grown into a Kansai region- wide group but has also won
the support from the government, through technology and
material support from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA), and financial support from NEDO.
The Osaka Securities Exchange, specializing in derivatives
such as Nikkei 225 Futures, is based in Osaka.
There are many electrical, chemical,pharmaceutical, heavy
industry, food, and housing companies in Osaka Prefecture.
Osaka Prefecture has three airports (Kansai International
Airport, Osaka International Airport, and Yao Airport).
Thirty-three cities are located in Osaka Prefecture:
Daitō
Fujiidera
Habikino
Hannan
Higashiosaka
Hirakata
Ibaraki
Ikeda
Izumi
Izumiōtsu
Izumisano
Kadoma
Kaizuka
Kashiwara
Katano
Kawachinagano
Kishiwada
Matsubara
Minoh
Moriguchi
Neyagawa
Osaka (capital)
Osakasayama
Sakai
Sennan
Settsu
Shijōnawate
Suita
Takaishi
Takatsuki
Tondabayashi
Toyonaka
Yao
Information source: “Osaka Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 2 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Osaka Prefecture>. |
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