rural districts; counties
Refers to the non-urban, rural parts of a prefecture or region, often contrasted with 市部 (urban areas). Used in administrative, demographic, and news contexts.
The population continues to decline in the rural districts of this prefecture.
Schools in rural areas are being consolidated.
Population decline is progressing in the rural districts of Saitama Prefecture.
He lives in a rural district.
郡部 specifically denotes the rural counties of a prefecture as opposed to its cities, while 地方 more broadly means any region outside the capital or a major metropolis.
郡部 refers to rural, non-urban districts of a prefecture, while 市部 refers to its urban, city-designated areas.
Compound of 郡 (county, district) and 部 (part, section), literally meaning 'county part'.