to Tokyo's. The plan was narrowly defeated in a 2015 referendum, and again in 2020. Dō Hokkaidō is referred to as a or circuit. This term was originally used to refer to Japanese regions consisting of several provinces (e.g. the Tōkaidō east-coast region, and Saikaido west-coast region). This was also a historical usage of the character in China. (In Korea, this historical usage is still used today and was kept during the period of Japanese rule.) , the only remaining dō today, was not one of the original seven dō (it was known as Ezo in the pre-modern era). Its current name is believed to originate from Matsuura Takeshiro, an early Japanese explorer of the island. Since Hokkaidō did not fit into the existing dō classifications, a new dō was created to cover it. The Meiji government originally classified Hokkaidō as a , and later divided the island into three prefectures (Sapporo, Hakodate, and Nemuro). These were consolidated into a single in 1886, at prefectural level but organized more along the lines of a territory. In 1947, the department was dissolved, and Hokkaidō became a full-fledged prefecture. The -ken suffix was never added to its name, so the -dō suffix came to be understood to mean "prefecture". When Hokkaidō was incorporated, transportation on the island was still underdeveloped, so the prefecture was split into several that could fulfill administrative duties of the prefectural government and keep tight control over the developing island. These subprefectures still exist today, although they have much less power than they possessed before and during World War II. They now exist primarily to handle paperwork and other bureaucratic functions. "Hokkaidō Prefecture" is, technically speaking, a redundant term because dō itself indicates a prefecture, although it is occasionally used to differentiate the government from the island itself. The prefecture's government calls itself the "Hokkaidō Government" rather than the "Hokkaidō Prefectural Government". Fu Osaka and Kyoto Prefectures are referred to as . The Classical Chinese character from which this is derived implies a core urban zone of national importance. Before World War II, different laws applied to fu and ken, but this distinction was abolished after the war, and the two types of prefecture are now functionally the same. Ken 43 of the 47 prefectures are referred to as . The Classical Chinese character from which this is derived carries a rural or provincial connotation, and an analogous