The bureaucratic administration of Japan is divided into three basic levels; national, prefectural, and municipal. They are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947. Below the national government there are 47 prefectures, six of which are further subdivided into subprefectures to better service large geographical areas or remote islands. The 1718 municipalities (792 cities, 743 towns, and 183 villages) and 23 special wards of Tokyo are the lowest level of government; the twenty most-populated cities outside Tokyo Metropolis are known as designated cities and are subdivided into wards. Prefectural divisions The top tier of administrative divisions are the 47 prefectural entities: 43 proper, two , one , and one . Although different in name, they are functionally the same. Ken are the most common types of prefectural divisions total of 43 ken. The kanji (character) from which this is derived means "county". To Tokyo Metropolis is referred to as a after the dissolution of Tokyo City in 1943, Tōkyō-fu (Tokyo Prefecture) was upgraded into Tōkyō-to and the former Tokyo City's wards were upgraded into special wards. The kanji (character) from which this is derived means "capital". Fu Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture are referred to as an . The Chinese character from which this is derived implies a core urban zone of national importance in middle period of China, or implies a sub division of a province in late period of China. Dō Hokkaido is referred to as a , this term was originally used to refer to Japanese regions consisting of several provinces. This was also a historical usage of the character in China meaning circuit. Subprefectural divisions There are only two types of subprefectural divisions: subprefecture and district. Subprefecture are a Japanese form of self-government which focuses on local issues below the prefectural level. It acts as part of the greater administration of the state and as part of a self-government system. District were administrative units in use between 1878 and 1921 that were roughly equivalent to the counties of China or the United States. In the 1920s, municipal functions were transferred from district offices to the offices of the towns and villages within the district. District names remain in the postal address of towns and villages, and districts are sometimes used as boundaries for electoral districts, but otherwise serve no official function. The Classical Chinese character from which this is derived means commandery. Municipal divisions The