prefectures (excluding Okinawa, then under US military rule) and all their municipalities were held at the same time in "unified local elections". Since then, some gubernatorial and mayoral elections, and most assembly elections, have stayed on this original four-year cycle. Most governors and mayors are now elected on different schedules as the four-year cycle "resets" upon the resignation, death or removal of a sitting governor or mayor. Some assembly election cycles have also shifted due to assembly dissolutions or mergers of municipalities. The most recent were the 2019 Japanese unified local elections. Types of Japanese local elections Administrative divisions of Japan; 47 prefectures, 792 cities, 743 towns, 183 villages (not inducing the six villages in the Kuril Islands dispute area) and 23 special wards of Tokyo. Governor and mayor elections Prefectural governor elections (都道府県知事選挙 to-dō-fu-ken chiji senkyo) Municipal mayor elections (市町村長選挙 shi-chō-son chō senkyo) Special ward mayor elections (特別区長選挙 tokubetsu-ku chō senkyo) Prefectural and municipal assembly elections Prefectural assembly elections (都道府県議会議員選挙 to-dō-fu-ken gikaigiin senkyo) Municipal assembly elections (市町村議会議員選挙 shi-chō-son gikaigiin senkyo) Special ward assembly elections (特別区議会議員選挙 tokubetsu-ku gikaigiin senkyo) Unified elections As of 2015, the major contests in the unified local elections are as follows: Although Tokyo's metropolitan governor and assembly elections are currently held on separate schedules, 21 of the 23 special wards of Tokyo follow the unified election schedule for their assembly elections, the only exceptions being Katsushika and Adachi. The majority of Tokyo's special wards follow separate cycles for their mayoral elections. Tokyo elected its governor as part of the unified elections until 2011, but was forced to hold a 2012 election and 2014 election due to the resignations of Shintaro Ishihara and Naoki Inose. Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture are no longer on the unified election cycle due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which delayed their elections. List of unified local elections 2007 Japanese unified local elections 2011 Japanese unified local elections 2015 Japanese unified local elections 2019 Japanese unified local elections Other major local election cycles Since 1971, Ibaraki Prefecture has held its prefectural assembly elections in the December preceding the unified election, making this election a regular leading indicator of the nationwide elections in the following April. The 2014 Ibaraki election was held on the same day as the 2014 Japanese general election. Approximately 193 new municipalities were created in a wave of "Heisei mergers" effective in April 2005. Their