The Toda, who were allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu were dispossessed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but returned as daimyō of Tahara Domain at the start of the Edo period.

At the start of the Meiji period, on October 1, 1889, Tahara was organized into a number of villages within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

Tahara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 15 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Friendship cities Tahara is a regional commercial center with a mixed economy of manufacturing and agriculture.

Toyotetsu buses and city-operated environmentally friendly public transport facilitate access throughout Tahara, even to the westernmost point at Cape Irago.

From the Port of Irago, the Ise-wan Ferry connects Tahara with the town of Toba, Mie prefecture.

The ferry also docks at the Central Japan International Airport, built on an artificial island in Ise Bay, south of Nagoya.