During World War II, the regulation by the government was enforced, however, after the war, the first reform of the local system was implemented in 1946 to promote democratization, and the classification system where a prefectural governor is elected by voters was introduced, which was after all replaced by the current Todofuken sei (system of prefectural government) when the Local Autonomy Law was established in 1947.
第二次世界大戦中は更に政府の統制が強化されたが、終戦後の1946年（昭和21年）の第1次地方制度改革で知事の選挙投票者による分類制が導入されるなどの民主化が行われ、最終的には1947年（昭和22年）の地方自治法の成立により現行の都道府県制に移行した。