Iōjima, Tokyo Explained

Iōjima
Native Name Lang:ja
Settlement Type:Former municipality
Seal Type:Emblem
Pushpin Map:North Pacific
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Japan
Coordinates:24.7833°N 160°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Japan
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Kantō region
Subdivision Type2:Prefecture
Subdivision Name2:Tokyo
Subdivision Type3:District
Subdivision Name3:none
Extinct Title:Merged
Extinct Date:June 26, 1968
(now part of Ogasawara, Tokyo)
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Title1:Vice Mayor
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:23.16
Population Total:1,018
Population As Of:1943
Timezone1:JST
Utc Offset1:+09:00
Blank Name Sec1:City hall address

was a village in the Japanese prefecture of Tokyo. Its administrative area covered the whole island of Iwo Jima (officially Iōtō since 2007), one of the Volcano Islands. It existed from 1923 when the Ogasawara islands were organized into modern municipalities to 1952 when mainland Tokyo returned to Japanese sovereignty and Iwo Jima was put under US military administration. When the island was returned to Japan in 1968 it became part of the village of Ogasawara, Tokyo.

In 1943, the village had a population of 1,018 in 192 households. For a period the population was fewer than 1,200.[1]

Administratively the villages and towns on Tokyo's islands were never subordinate to counties, but through subprefectures more directly tied to the prefectural administration (Home Ministry appointed county governments in mainland Japan were abolished in 1921 by the Hara cabinet to strengthen the local autonomy of municipalities). In addition, municipal administrations on small islands followed different administrative rules than those on the main islands, the tōsho chō-son-sei (島嶼町村制). In 1940, Tokyo's island municipalities including Iōjima were transformed into ordinary towns and villages and followed the same revised Imperial administrative code of 1911 (chō-son-sei) as the towns and villages on the mainland.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jones, Colin P.A.. Iwo Jima: Where Japan rules but the memory of war dead still reigns. Japan Times. 2019-05-05. 2019-05-08.