Administrative divisions of Surea

Surea is divided into 16 prefectures (sen), 4 metropolitan cities (fu), and 2 special city (du). These are further subdivided into a variety of smaller entities, including cities (shi), counties (yu), wards (chi), districts (bun), towns (zen), townships (kini) and villages (kami), as explained below.

Local Government
Surea has a unitary rather than federal system of government, in which local jurisdictions largely depend on national government financially. The Ministry of Personal intervenes significantly in local government, as do other ministries. This is done chiefly financially because many local government jobs need funding initiated by national ministries.

The result of this power is a high level of organizational and policy standardization among the different local jurisdictions allowing them to preserve the uniqueness of their prefecture, city, or town. Some of the more collectivist jurisdictions, such as Konggei and Hondu, have experimented with policies in such areas as social welfare that later were adopted by the national government.

Surean terms appear in their official Romaju spelling.

Local Authorities
Surea is divided into twenty-two administrative divisions, the urban prefectures: four metropolitan cities and two special cities. Large cities are subdivided into wards (chi)and counties (yu).

Cities (shi) are self-governing units administered independently of the larger jurisdictions within which they are located. In order to attain shi status, a jurisdiction must have at least 130,000 inhabitants, 55 percent of whom are engaged in urban occupations. The terms zen and kini designate self-governing towns outside the cities as well as counties. Like the cities, each has its own elected mayor and assembly. Villages (kami) are the smallest self-governing entities in rural areas. Villages have mayors and councils elected to four-years

Sen ("Urban Prefecture"; 县)
A "Sen" is one of the primary divisions of the country, along with "Fu" and "Du". Surea has 16 urban prefectures.

Each urban prefectures is subdivided into cities ("shi") and counties ("yu").

Fu ("Metropolitan City"; 府)
Fu, or "metropolitan cities", are major cities that are not part of any urban prefecture, but exist independently and are self-governed. They are comparable to China's direct-controlled municipalities and South Korea's Gwangyeoksi. Surea has 4 metropolitan cities with provincial status.

Each Metropolitan City are divided into wards ("chi") and outlying counties ("yu").

Du ("Special City"; 都)
A "du" is one of the primary divisions of the country, along with fu and sen. Surea has two special cities. Du is divided into wards ("chi").

Shi ("City"; 市)
A "shi" is one of the divisions of an urban prefecture, along with "yu". Cities have a population of at least 130,000; once a county ("yu") attains that population, it becomes a city. Cities with a population of over 300,000 are divided into wards ("chi"). Chis are then further divided into districts ("bun"); cities with a population of less than 300,000 do not have wards – these cities are directly divided into districts ("bun").

Yu ("County"; 邑)
A "yu" is one of the divisions of an urban prefecture (along with "shi"), and of the metropolitan cities(along with "chi"). A "yu" has a population of less than 130,000 (more than that would make it a city or "shi"), is less densely populated than a "chi," and is more rural in character than either of the other 2 divisions. Counties are divided into towns ("zen") and townships ("kini").

Chi ("Ward"; 區)
Most cities are divided into "chi"s, though the metropolitan cities contain "yu"s as well. "Chi"s are similar to boroughs in some Western countries, and a "chi" office handles many of the functions that would be handled by the city in other jurisdictions. "Chi"s are divided into districts ("bun").

Bun ("District"; 郡)
A bun is the primary division of wards (chi), and of those cities (shi) which are not divided into wards. The bun is the smallest level of urban government to have its own office and staff. In some cases, a single legal bun is divided into several administrative bun. Administrative buns are usually distinguished from one another by number or direction (north, south, east or west). In such cases, each administrative bun has its own office and staff.

The primary division of a bun is the tong (統; "city block"), but divisions at this level and below are seldom used in daily life. They are not a separate level of government, but only exist for use in addresses.

Zen ("Town"; 鎮)
Along with "kini", a "zen" is one of the divisions of a county ("yu"). Towns are subdivided into villages ("kami"). In order to form a zen, the minimum population required is 20,000.

Kini ("Township"; 鄉)
A "kini" is one of the divisions – along with "zen" – of a county ("yu"). "Kini"s have smaller populations than "zen"s and represent the rural areas of a county. Kinis are subdivided into villages ("kami"). The minimum population limit is 6,000.

Kami ("Village"; 村)
A "kami" is the only division of towns ("zen") and townships ("kini"). The "kami" is the smallest level of rural government to contain any significant number of people.