How Okinawa and Hokkaido Compare with the Other Prefectures

Statistics Japan is a very interesting website.  It compares Japan’s 47 prefectures on all different types of subjects.

Okinawa, in the very south of Japan,  ranks #1 in quite a few topics: game parlors, video arcades, American residents in Japan, churches, number of children, annual rate of unemployment, and rate of shotgun weddings, to name a few.

At the other end, it ranks #47 for patients with diabetes, temples, Shinto shrines, national achievement test, rate of empty rental houses, patients with cancer, and savings per household.

Hokkaido, in the very north of Japan, ranks #1 for attractiveness, area, female rate of smoking and female death due to lung cancer, consumption of pork (I really thought this would be Okinawa), and convenience stores.

The only thing it ranks #47 for is Philippine residents in Japan.  It ranks #46 for rate of female physicians. It ranks #45 for number of children.

I could spend hours (and frequently do) looking at this website. (Don't blame me if it happens to you).  There’s probably a similar website for the United States, but I haven’t seen it yet.