PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2026 at 15:51
People walk through a restaurant district in Tokyo on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)
The Japanese government approved an ordinance on Tuesday setting requirements for designation as a “second capital” to back up Tokyo in disasters and promote decentralisation, with Osaka and three other prefectures qualifying.
To qualify, a prefecture must meet several conditions, including accounting for at least 2.1% of Japan’s gross domestic product and containing a city with at least 1.2% of the country’s population.
Hokkaido in northern Japan, Aichi in central Japan, Osaka in the west and Fukuoka in the southwest aim to apply for the status.
Legislation to create a second-capital system, enacted in July, is a pillar of a coalition agreement signed a year ago between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior ally, the Osaka-based Japan Innovation Party.
The law, set to take effect on Friday, does not limit the number of second capitals to one, leaving open the possibility that multiple prefectures could be designated.
The ordinance also calls for a backup capital to be located outside areas at risk of severe damage from a major earthquake in the Tokyo area or an eruption of Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.