Blank Map of Japan

Printable map of Japan with all 47 prefectures, in four versions — blank, labeled, colored and with cities. Download as SVG, PNG or PDF. Public-domain data, no watermark.

Outlines only — no labels, no fill.

SVG (vector)

Any size, editable in Inkscape, Illustrator or Figma.

PNG (image)

PDF (print)

PNG and PDF files are drawn in your browser at the size you pick; nothing is uploaded. No watermark, no sign-up.

Japan at a glance

Prefectures on the map	47
Area of the shapes drawn	374,170 km² · 144,468 mi²
Largest prefecture by area	Hokkaidō — 78,814 km²
Smallest prefecture by area	Kagawa Prefecture — 1,858 km²
Places on the with-cities version	Tokyo, Ōsaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kōbe

Areas are computed here from the full-resolution Natural Earth shapes on a sphere and are approximate; official figures differ, especially where coastlines and islands are generalised. Cities are the largest by Natural Earth's metro population figure (pop_max); squares mark national capitals.

All 47 prefectures of Japan

Prefecture	Area, km² (approx.)	Area, mi² (approx.)
Aichi Prefecture	4,951	1,912
Akita Prefecture	11,737	4,532
Aomori Prefecture	9,666	3,732
Chiba Prefecture	5,123	1,978
Ehime Prefecture	5,646	2,180
Fukui Prefecture	4,230	1,633
Fukuoka Prefecture	5,065	1,956
Fukushima Prefecture	14,011	5,410
Gifu Prefecture	10,709	4,135
Gunma Prefecture	6,349	2,451
Hiroshima Prefecture	8,322	3,213
Hokkaidō	78,814	30,430
Hyōgo Prefecture	8,401	3,244
Ibaraki Prefecture	6,349	2,451
Ishikawa Prefecture	4,121	1,591
Iwate Prefecture	15,493	5,982
Kagawa Prefecture	1,858	717
Kagoshima Prefecture	7,726	2,983
Kanagawa Prefecture	2,389	922
Kōchi Prefecture	7,108	2,744
Kumamoto Prefecture	7,274	2,809
Kyōto Prefecture	4,621	1,784
Mie Prefecture	5,834	2,253
Miyagi Prefecture	7,514	2,901
Miyazaki Prefecture	7,879	3,042
Nagano Prefecture	13,725	5,299
Nagasaki Prefecture	4,002	1,545
Nara Prefecture	3,861	1,491
Niigata Prefecture	12,475	4,817
Ōita Prefecture	6,568	2,536
Okayama Prefecture	6,951	2,684
Okinawa Prefecture	3,310	1,278
Ōsaka Prefecture	1,859	718
Saga Prefecture	2,454	947
Saitama Prefecture	3,893	1,503
Shiga Prefecture	4,018	1,551
Shimane Prefecture	6,893	2,661
Shizuoka Prefecture	7,686	2,968
Tochigi Prefecture	6,494	2,507
Tokushima Prefecture	4,259	1,644
Tokyo	2,188	845
Tottori Prefecture	3,712	1,433
Toyama Prefecture	4,377	1,690
Wakayama Prefecture	4,440	1,714
Yamagata Prefecture	9,259	3,575
Yamaguchi Prefecture	6,036	2,331
Yamanashi Prefecture	4,520	1,745

Printing and using the map

Pick a version with the tabs above the map. Blank is outlines only; Labeled names each prefecture.
For paper, choose PDF and your page size. Wide maps are placed on a landscape page automatically.
Print at 100% or “Fit to page”. The PDF already leaves a half-inch margin.
For slides or documents, a 1,200 or 2,400 px PNG is enough. For a poster, use the 4,800 px PNG or the SVG.
To colour prefectures by your own data, open the SVG in a design program: each prefecture is a separate path carrying its name.

About the boundaries

The shapes are Natural Earth's 1:10 million first-level administrative units (version 5.1), a public-domain dataset maintained by volunteers and the North American Cartographic Information Society. Where Natural Earth records a lower level of government than the one named here, its units are merged into the parent region, and names are given in common English forms.

The map uses an equal-area projection (Lambert azimuthal equal-area, centred on the map), so prefectures keep their true relative sizes. It is simplified to about the detail visible at 2400 × 1773 pixels, and coloured so that no two touching prefectures share a colour. The colours carry no meaning.

Limits: shorelines and small islands are generalised, very small prefectures may be hard to see at letter size, and the map shows administrative divisions only — no rivers, roads or terrain. It is for teaching, illustration and planning, not for legal, survey or navigation use.

Sources

Natural Earth 1:10m Admin 1 – States, Provinces — public-domain boundaries, version 5.1
Natural Earth 1:10m Populated Places — city locations and the population figures used to pick them

Source files downloaded October 18, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many prefectures are on this map of Japan?

47. That is the number of shapes after the grouping described under "About the boundaries"; every one of them is listed in the table on this page.

Can I use these maps for free, including commercially?

Yes. The maps are drawn from public-domain boundary data (Natural Earth) and this site adds no restrictions: use them in worksheets, slides, videos, products and print without attribution.

Which file should I download for printing?

The PDF, sized for your paper. It holds a 200 dpi image scaled to fit inside a half-inch margin and turns landscape automatically for wide maps. The SVG is vector and prints sharp at any size from a design program.

Do the four versions line up with each other?

Yes. The labeled, colored and with-cities versions are the blank SVG with labels, fills or city markers added on top, so the borders are identical. Print the blank one as a quiz and the labeled one as the answer key.

Why are some labels shortened?

Labels are sized to fit inside each prefecture. Where a name cannot fit even at the smallest readable size it is shortened with an ellipsis or replaced by its abbreviation. The full names are in the table below the map.

How accurate are the borders?

They come from Natural Earth, a public-domain dataset made for small-scale maps, simplified further to suit a 2400 × 1773 pixel drawing. Where borders are disputed, Natural Earth shows the line it considers in de facto use, which may differ from a particular government's position.