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The term prefecture has been used
to denote a self-governing body or area since the time of
Constantine I, who divided the
Roman Empire into 4 districts (each divided into
dioceses). Much like a state or city, these were largely self-governed;
however each owed allegiance to
Rome. A prefect was the head of a prefecture.
Japanese sense of
prefecture
In the
Japanese system, the word prefecture is used for translating
references to an administrative district, ken (県),
which is about the size of a
county.
The local self-governing system of Japan consists of 2
classes: prefectures as the large area local governing units and
municipalities the basic local governing units. In the Eastern sense,
the administrative segregation of a unified
nation is usually trifold: the nation, large area local governing units,
and basic local governing units. Japan fits this pattern.
Japan is divided into
47 prefectures and each prefecture is further divided into
municipalities. These prefectures and municipalities have no overlapping
districts or uncovered areas. In short, all the residents in Japan are sure
to belong to one prefecture and one municipality.
These prefectures and municipalites are not merely set up
as the nation's administrative section, but also as corporate bodies
independent from the country that possesses their own basic governing areas
and local residents as their constituents. They hold administrative power
within the districts in question. In Okinawa, Nagasaki and Hokkaido,
subprefectures are used as special administrative unites because such
regions are too large or remote to govern for a prefectural government.
The current prefecture system in Japan was settled in
Meiji era after the new government abolished
feudal clans or
Han. That is called "Abolition
of the Han system". See
Meiji era in
History of Japan for historical background of this event.
Chinese sense of
prefecture
Prefecture was the good
enough English translation before the establishment of
ROC for the
Chinese term xian (县
or 縣
pinyin xian4) which marked the level of government below the province.
The word
county has been employed for denoting the same
Chinese term after
1911. This situation was much more complicated before 1911.
The number of prefectures in
China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As
Qin Shi Huang Di reorganized the chinese prefectures after his
unification, just below 1000 were found. In Eastern
Han Dynasty, numbers of prefecture increased to above 1000. About 1400
were observed when
Sui dynasty eradicated jun or
commandry (郡
jun4), the level just above xian, many of which were demoted to
prefectures. Current number of
counties mostly resembled that of the prefectures in the later years of
Qing Dynasty. Changes of location and names of prefectures in
Chinese history had been a major field of research in
Chinese historical geography,
especially during
1960s to
1980s.
In Eastern sense, the administrative regions of a unified
nation are usually segregated into three levels: the nation, large area
local governing units and small local governing units. Though taking
different names during the course of Chinese history, this ideology had been
followed until
Ming Dynasty. In Imperial China, the prefecture was a significant
administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial
bureaucratic structure. Government below the prefecture level was often
undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying from dynasties.
In modern-day
People's Republic of China, prefecture is the level immediately
below a
province, which include prefecture, autonomous prefecture, and
prefecture-level city. (See
Political divisions of China#Level)
French sense of
prefecture
In
France, a préfecture is the
capital city of a
département. By extension, it is also the name of one of the
governing bodies of the département. The civil servant in charge is
the préfet. The préfecture is an administration that
belongs to the Interior ministry, and is therefore in charge of the delivery
of the identity card, driving licenses, passports, and of the management of
the
police and of the
firefighters. The préfet can make arrêtés, which are
legal texts written for the application of the law, e.g. to close a building
that is not conform to the safety rules. The other governing body is the
Conseil Général, which is in charge of the building and maintenance of
schools and roads, the financial assistance to dependent people (disabled,
old persons), promotion of the economical local development...
Préfecture It is also the name of the building where the préfet
is based.
There are 100 préfectures in France.
There is an exception with
Paris (which is itself a département) and the three surrounding
départements (called the petite couronne, small crown):
those four départements are governed by a single préfecture
which is the préfecture de police (PP). The préfet de police
has the power of law enforcement for Paris, which is a power of the mayor
for the other french cities and towns. Until
1977, Paris had indeed no mayor and was entirely ruled by the préfet
de police (a situation inherited from the
Paris Commune,
1871).
The départements are divided into
arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons. The
capital city of a canton is the
sous-préfecture (note that the word "arrondissement" is barely used
in this meaning, this subdivision has not a big importance in France). The
civil servant in charge is the sous-préfet. The capital city of a
canton is a chef-lieu de canton.
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