Tokyo has 39 million residence, 50% more people than any other urban area, with a $2.5 trillion economy larger than that of any other city; if it were a country, Tokyo would be the 8th largest economy in the world. Tokyo is often referred to as a city, but is officially known and governed as a "metropolitan prefecture", which differs from and combines elements of a city and a prefecture, a characteristic unique to Tokyo. 

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as an individual city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo before it merged and became the metropolitan prefecture in 1943, the 30 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture, and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 9 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. 

The prefecture is part of the world’s most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people and the world’s largest urban agglomeration economy. In 2011, the city hosted 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world at that time. Tokyo ranked third (twice) in the International Financial Canters Development Index. The city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, and the Tokyo Broadcasting System.