Osaka

Osaka (大阪, Osaka) is a region located in the Kinki region of western Honshu, Japan. It is the center of Japan's Keihanshin metropolitan area and is a key city with a great influence on western Japan.

As a city with developed commerce and distribution since ancient times, it was nicknamed 'the kitchen of the world', and even in modern times, it is one of Japan's representative economic centers where various industries such as finance, manufacturing, and service industries are concentrated.

The metropolitan government (Japanese name prefecture ) that makes up Osaka is Osaka Prefecture , and it is the economic, transportation, and cultural center of the Kinki region. It is the seat of the prefectural government of Osaka Prefecture and the most core area of ​​Osaka is Osaka City , which is a basic local government (Japanese name: municipality ).

It is an area that has hosted numerous international events, including the 1970 Osaka Expo , the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit , and the 2025 Osaka Expo .

There are times when people get confused because they do not know the clear difference between Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City . In most cases, people are confused because they are not familiar with the names of metropolitan and basic local governments in Japan.

Metropolitan governments in Japan are comprised of prefectures , and Osaka Prefecture is one of them. To put it simply in Korean terms, Osaka Prefecture is a region corresponding to special cities, metropolitan cities, special autonomous cities, provinces, and special self-governing provinces, such as Seoul Metropolitan City, Busan Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Gyeonggi-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do.

Basic local governments in Japan are comprised of municipalities , and Osaka City is one of them. To put it simply in Korean terms, Osaka City is an area that corresponds to general cities, districts, and counties such as Gangnam-gu, Haeundae-gu, Seongnam-si, Suwon-si, and Cheorwon-gun.

What is unique is that in Korea, taking the metropolitan city of Busan as an example, there are basic self-governing bodies at the autonomous district level such as Haeundae-gu and basic self-governing bodies at the county level such as Gijang-gun within the metropolitan city, but there is no special city or 'general city-level' area within the metropolitan city to the extent that Gijang-si in Busan is classified as an incorrect administrative district. However, in Japan, there is a 'general city unit (municipality)' city of a basic government called 'Osaka City' within the metropolitan government called Osaka Prefecture.[4] Due to this, there are cases where Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City are confused due to differences in regional classification methods between Korea and Japan. To sum up, Osaka Prefecture is a metropolitan government like Seoul Metropolitan City and Busan Metropolitan City, and Osaka City is a basic local government area like general cities, counties, and districts in Korea such as Haeundae-gu and Gijang-gun under the metropolitan government, and is not a metropolitan government.

The name 'Osaka (おおさか, 大阪)' comes from 'Osaka (大坂)', meaning 'big hill' or 'wide slope'. Here, '坂 (slope)' is an expression that reflects topographical characteristics, showing that in the past, this area had a gently hilly topography.
Originally, the notation '大坂' was common, but as the perception that the character '坂' was inauspicious because it was destroyed to mean '土 + 反', that is, returning to earth or dying, spread, it gradually changed to '大阪' and settled, especially after the Edo period. Currently, '大阪' is the official spelling for both administrative and geographical names.

Osaka has developed into a hub for transportation and logistics within Japan since ancient times. In particular, it gained importance as a military base during the Warring States period, and later reached its heyday as a commercial city during the Edo period. During this period, Osaka functioned as a distribution center where goods from all over the country gathered and grew into a city that actually drove the Japanese economy.
After modern times, it developed into an industrial city along with industrialization, and is currently positioned as one of Japan's leading economic centers. In particular, the headquarters of large corporations, financial institutions, and commercial facilities are concentrated here, and it plays a key role in driving the economy of western Japan.

Osaka is famous in Japan as a region with a unique urban culture. Due to its historical background as a commercial center, it has a strong practical and open temperament, and is characterized by a local culture that emphasizes humor and friendliness.

Unlike typical Japanese people who use polite and indirect speech, people in Osaka are famous for their direct speech. It is said that he is friendly and honest, so he can quickly start a conversation with people he meets for the first time.

Another word that cannot be left out when describing Osaka is 'Kui Taore'. It means ‘people in Osaka perish while eating,’ and the food culture has developed accordingly. Osaka has a developed common food culture represented by takoyaki and okonomiyaki , and these factors are important factors that make Osaka one of Japan's representative tourist cities.

The Japan Restoration Association , based in the Osaka area, is trying to integrate Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City to establish Osaka Prefecture and elevate its status to a secondary capital following Tokyo. In particular, since the establishment of the Sanae Takaichi regime and the coalition government in 2026, the influence of the Osaka minor capital plan has been growing in the government, and on July 16, the Japanese House of Representatives passed with a majority vote the 'Bill to secure the continuity of national and social functions and promote the development of the minor capital', jointly proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Restoration Association, and passed it to the House of Councilors. In other words, if a major national disaster such as an earthquake or tsunami occurs in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the water supply function becomes difficult, the goal is for a secondary water supply to replace the water supply function for a certain period of time.