Local government and public services

This page explains vocabulary and is not advice on any procedure or tax. Local government in Japan has two tiers, the prefectures, 都道府県(とどうふけん), and the municipalities below them, 市町村(しちょうそん), and the name of an office says which tier it belongs to: a 県庁(けんちょう) or a 役場(やくば). Public bodies also have verbs of their own where English uses plain “open” and “closed”: a government office 開庁(かいちょう)する, a library or museum is 休館(きゅうかん). Much of what a council says reaches people on paper, through the 広報誌(こうほうし) and the 回覧板(かいらんばん) passed from door to door.