Tokyo is the capital of Japan and also serves as its largest city and the seat of the Japanese Emperor and national government, housing the Diet (Japan's parliament) and the Prime Minister's official residence. It sits on the eastern coast of the main island of Honshu and, together with its surrounding prefectures, forms the Greater Tokyo Area, the most populous metropolitan region in the world. Tokyo became the effective capital in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, when the imperial seat moved from Kyoto and the city was renamed from Edo to Tokyo, meaning 'Eastern Capital'. This historical shift is worth remembering because it explains why Kyoto, despite being the older imperial capital for over a thousand years, is not the correct answer today. Osaka is incorrect because although it is Japan's second-largest metropolitan economy and a historic centre of trade, it has never functioned as the national capital. Kyoto is a tempting distractor precisely because it was Japan's imperial capital from 794 to 1868 and remains world-famous for its temples, shrines and traditional culture, but it lost administrative capital status after the Meiji Restoration. Yokohama, though it is Japan's second most populous city and lies immediately south of Tokyo within the same metropolitan region, has always been a major port city rather than a seat of government. A common exam confusion arises from students assuming the largest or most historically significant city must be the capital, which fails here since Kyoto's long imperial legacy makes it a frequent wrong choice among test-takers. The key revision takeaway is to associate Tokyo firmly with 1868 onward as Japan's political capital, and Kyoto with the pre-1868 imperial era, so the two never get swapped in a multiple-choice setting.
