This is the 10120th most frequent Japanese word.
都道府県
"都道府県" refers to Japan's administrative divisions, consisting of Tokyo Metropolis (都), prefectures (道 and 県), and Osaka/Kyoto urban prefectures (府).
In this sentence, '都道府県' is used to refer to the collective term for the administrative divisions in Japan: Tokyo being '都', Hokkaido as '道', Osaka and Kyoto as '府', and the other areas as '県'.
日本には47の都道府県があります。
Japan has 47 prefectures.
Here, '都道府県' is used to specify the administrative entity within Japan, highlighting regional differences within these divisions.
その都道府県によって文化や言語が少し異なります。
The culture and language vary slightly depending on the prefecture.
In this context, '都道府県' represents the diverse regions of Japan one might visit, emphasizing the geographical and cultural variety.