The number of cities, towns and villages fell below 2,000 Monday, compared with more than 3,200 in 1999, prior to the central government's push for municipal consolidation to streamline local administration, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.
Five new cities were created Monday in the latest round of mergers, including Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, with a population of 132,000. The number of municipalities now stands at 1,998, the ministry said.
In March 1999, there were 3,232 cities, towns and villages nationwide; by November 2004 the number had fallen below 3,000.
After most of the scheduled mergers for the coming fiscal year are completed, there will be about 1,820 municipalities.
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