Editing Geography of Japan (section)

===Taiheiyō Belt===
[[File:Major_metropolitan_employment_areas_of_Taiheiyō_Belt.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[Taiheiyō Belt]]]]
The [[Taiheiyō Belt]] is a [[megalopolis]] that includes the Greater Tokyo Area and [[Keihanshin]] megapoles. It is almost {{convert|1,200|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, from [[Ibaraki Prefecture]] in the northeast to [[Fukuoka Prefecture]] in the southwest. Satellite images at night show a dense and continuous strip of light (demarcating urban zones) that delineates the region with overlapping metropolitan areas in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/~kitamoto/research/rs/world-lights.html.en |title=Satellite images of stable night time lights in Japan |access-date=2018-10-20 |archive-date=2006-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216012218/http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/~kitamoto/research/rs/world-lights.html.en |url-status=live }}</ref> It has a total population of approximately 81,859,345 (2016).
* Taiheiyō Belt – includes [[Ibaraki Prefecture|Ibaraki]], [[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]], [[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]], [[Tokyo]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]], [[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]], [[Aichi Prefecture|Aichi]], [[Gifu Prefecture|Gifu]], [[Mie Prefecture|Mie]], [[Kyoto Prefecture|Kyoto]], [[Osaka Prefecture|Osaka]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture|Hyōgo]], [[Wakayama Prefecture|Wakayama]], [[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]], [[Hiroshima Prefecture|Hiroshima]], [[Yamaguchi Prefecture|Yamaguchi]], [[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]], and [[Ōita Prefecture|Ōita]]. (81,859,345 people)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.meti.go.jp/committee/materials/downloadfiles/g60519c03j.pdf#page=4 |title=地域活性化戦略（案）資料 |publisher=Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry|access-date=August 13, 2016 |format=PDF |language=ja |page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923151046/http://www.meti.go.jp/committee/materials/downloadfiles/g60519c03j.pdf#page=4|archive-date=September 23, 2016|url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2015 Population Census |url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2015/summary.htm |publisher=Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|access-date=August 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825120347/http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2015/summary.htm|archive-date=August 25, 2016|url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
** Greater Tokyo Area – Part of the larger [[Kantō region]], broadly includes Tokyo and [[Yokohama]]. (38,000,000 people)<ref>United Nations (March 12, 2017). "[https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/urbanization/the_worlds_cities_in_2016_data_booklet.pdf The World's Cities in 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112211410/http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/urbanization/the_worlds_cities_in_2016_data_booklet.pdf |date=2017-01-12 }}" (PDF). United Nations</ref>
** [[Keihanshin]] – Part of the larger [[Kansai region]], includes Osaka, Kyoto, and [[Kobe]]. (19,341,976 people)<ref>[http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/back60/zuhyou/y0206000.xls Japan Statistics Bureau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120320/http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/back60/zuhyou/y0206000.xls |date=2015-09-24 }} – "2010 Census", retrieved August 23, 2015</ref>