Capital n/a Region Kanto Island Honshu Governor Shintaro Ishihara Area 2,187.08 km? (45th)  - % water 1.0% Population  (June 1, 2006)  - Population 12,570,000 (8,520,000 in special wards) (1st)  - Density 5796 /km? Districts 1 Municipalities 62 ISO 3166-2 JP-13 Website www.metro.tokyo.jp/ ENGLISH/ Prefectural Symbols  - Flower Somei-Yoshino cherry blossom  - Tree Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)  - Bird Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

Adopted in June 1989, Tokyo's official symbol has three arcs forming the letter T for Tokyo in the shape of a vivid green ginkgo leaf. It symbolizes Tokyo's future growth, prosperity, charm, and tranquility. Tokyo (??, Tokyo?), the common English name for the Tokyo Metropolis (???, Tokyo-to?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal services characteristic of a city. Because it is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan.[1] It is also the most populous prefecture and city in the country, and the center of the Greater Tokyo Area which is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people.[2] It has been the world's most populous urban area ever since between 1965 and 1970, and despite Japan's declining population, is still growing. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, although each administratively a city in its own right, constitute the area informally considered as the "city of Tokyo" and are collectively one of the largest cities in the world with a total population of over 8 million people.[3] Tokyo has the largest metropolitan gross domestic product in the world for a city, and it held the title of the world's most expensive city for over a decade from 1992 through 2005.[4] Tokyo is considered one of the world's major global cities and a megacity. The name "Tokyo" refers variously to Tokyo Metropolis (the prefecture) as a whole, or only to the main urban mass under its jurisdiction (thus excluding west Tama and Izu / Ogasawara Islands), or even the whole of Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, and Yamanashi prefectures, depending on context. This article uses the name to refer to Tokyo Metropolis unless otherwise stated.