Questions about Japan, please answer?

Question:

Japan has 4 main islands.
The 4 main islands are divided into regions.
Then the regions are divided into prefectures.
Then prefectures are divided into cities and municipalities.
Then cities are divided into wards.

I can't quite understand how places in japan are divided.
-Am I wrong about the divisions in Japan and did I miss something? (If so, please correct me)
-And I don't really get/understand the "districts." Are wards divided into districts? If so, how?
-Can you explain the use of districts and wards in Japan?

Please answer as many as you can. Your answers are deeply appreciated.
Thank you very much! :)

Answer:

>Japan has 4 main islands. (correct)
>The 4 main islands are divided into regions. (correct)
>Then the regions are divided into prefectures. (correct)
>Then prefectures are divided into cities and municipalities. (correct)
>Then cities are divided into wards. (not necessarily)
---------------------------

Most cities in Japan are divided into towns (and villages in some rural areas).
From the central government down to the city municipalities, there is a nation-wide legally-set 'standard' for our administrative units. But, under the city level, there are a variety of administrative divisions, depending on their respective administrative requirements.

Speaking in general,
1) large cities (with more than 500,000 population) are divided into wards. And, their wards are divided into towns (and villages).
2) smaller cities are directly divided into towns.
However, Tokyo is the only exception. The Tokyo prefecture consists of 26 suburban cities and one "special district" in its center which consists or 23 wards. But, this "special district" is not a city, which makes a sharp contrast with the city of Osaka within the Osaka prefecture (dig it).

I am not sure how to answer your question, but
1. "Region" is not an administrative division; it is nothing more than a geographical division like the East Coast or the West Coast of the US.
2. "Prefecture" is an administrative division; we elect our governors by our direct votes just like you(?) elected Sarah Palin as the governor of Alaska.
3. "City" is an administrative unit; we elect our mayors by our direct votes.
4. "District" is not an administrative division except for "the special district" in Tokyo.
The special district (23 wards) in Tokyo used to be called the City of Tokyo until 1943.

I am not exactly sure why they changed its name from 'city' to a 'special district' in the midst of WWII. But, if you can explain why Washington D.C. is a 'district' instead of a state, then you can understand why the heart of Tokyo is 'a special district', I guess.