Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡県, Fukuoka-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.

Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.

Fukuoka Prefecture has signed Friendship Agreements with Bangkok (Thailand), Delhi (India), and Hanoi (Vietnam).

Fukuoka Prefecture faces the sea on three sides, bordering on Saga, Ōita, and Kumamoto prefectures and facing Yamaguchi Prefecture across the Kanmon Straits.

Fukuoka includes the two largest cities on Kyūshū, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, and much of Kyūshū's industry. It also includes a number of small islands near the north coast of Kyūshū.

Twenty-eight cities are located in Fukuoka Prefecture:

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Fukuoka prefecture's main cities form one of Japan's main industrial centers, accounting for nearly 40% of the economy of Kyūshū. Major industries include automobiles, semiconductors, and steel. Fukuoka prefecture is noteworthy as the place where tire manufacturer Bridgestone[1] and consumer electronics chain Best Denki were founded.

Fukuoka (福岡市, Fukuoka-shi^?) is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.

Ranked as the 14th of the world's most livable cities in the magazine Monocle in 2010, Fukuoka was praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1, 1972 by government ordinance. Greater Fukuoka (福岡都市圏), with 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka-Kitakyushu zone, as well as Northern Kyushu.

As of June 2011, Fukuoka is Japan's 7th largest city, having passed the population of Kyoto, and the first time a city west of the Kinki region has a larger population since Kyoto was established in the 7th century. However, in ancient times, the area near Fukuoka was thought to be perhaps even more influential than the Yamato region.

Fukuoka (the area of Kashii, Hakata, Sawara and Imazu) is said to be the oldest city in Japan, because it is the nearest city to China and Korea^{[citation needed]}. The area around Fukuoka is among the oldest non-Jōmon settlements in Japan^{[citation needed]}. Dazaifu was an administrative capital in 663 A.D., but a historian proposed that a prehistoric capital was in the area. Ancient texts, such as the Kojiki, and archaeology confirm this was a very critical place in the founding of Japan. Some scholars even go as far as to claim it was the first place outsiders and the Imperial Family set foot, but like many early Japan origin theories, it remains contested. See History of Japan. Fukuoka is sometimes still referred to as Hakata, the central ward of the city.