Core cities of Japan

■― Designated cities
■― Core cities
■― Special cities
Administrative divisions of Japan |
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Prefectural |
Prefectures |
Sub-prefectural |
Municipal |
Sub-municipal |
A core city (䏿 ¸å¸‚ ChÅ«kakushi) is a class or category of Japanese city. It is a local administrative division created by the national government.[1] Core cities are delegated many functions normally carried out by prefectural governments, but not as many as designated cities. To become a candidate for core city status, a city must have a population greater than 300,000 and an area greater than 100 square kilometers, although special exceptions may be made by order of the cabinet for cities with populations under 300,000 but over 200,000.[2]
Application for designation is made by a city with the approval of both the city and prefectural assemblies.
History
The term "core city" was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 22 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.[3]
List of core cities
As of April 2016, 47 cities have been designated core cities:
Name | Japanese | Population (2012) | Date of designation | Region | Prefecture |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akita | 秋田市 | 322,224 | 1997-04-01 | TÅhoku | Akita |
Amagasaki | 尼崎市 | 451,353 | 2009-04-01 | Kansai | HyÅgo |
Aomori | é’æ£®å¸‚ | 297,348 | 2006-10-01 | TÅhoku | Aomori |
Asahikawa | æ—å·å¸‚ | 351,765 | 2000-04-01 | HokkaidÅ | HokkaidÅ |
Fukuyama | ç¦å±±å¸‚ | 462,144 | 1998-04-01 | ChÅ«goku | Hiroshima |
Funabashi | 船橋市 | 610,492 | 2003-04-01 | KantŠ| Chiba |
Gifu | å²é˜œå¸‚ | 412,718 | 1996-04-01 | ChÅ«bu | Gifu |
HachiÅji | 八王å市 | 579,799 | 2015-04-01 | KantÅ | Tokyo |
Hakodate | 函館市 | 279,056 | 2005-10-01 | HokkaidŠ| HokkaidŠ|
HigashiÅsaka | æ±å¤§é˜ªå¸‚ | 508,267 | 2005-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
Himeji | 姫路市 | 536,218 | 1996-04-01 | Kansai | HyÅgo |
Hirakata | 枚方市 | 407,997 | 2014-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
Iwaki | ã„ã‚ã市 | 332,994 | 1999-04-01 | TÅhoku | Fukushima |
Kagoshima | 鹿å…島市 | 607,257 | 1996-04-01 | Kyushu | Kagoshima |
Kashiwa | æŸå¸‚ | 404,863 | 2008-04-01 | KantÅ | Chiba |
Kanazawa | 金沢市 | 462,796 | 1996-04-01 | Chūbu | Ishikawa |
Kawagoe | å·è¶Šå¸‚ | 345,361 | 2003-04-01 | KantÅ | Saitama |
KÅchi | 高知市 | 342,568 | 1998-04-01 | Shikoku | KÅchi |
KÅriyama | 郡山市 | 331,140 | 1997-04-01 | TÅhoku | Fukushima |
Koshigaya | 越谷市 | 328,079 | 2015-04-01 | KantŠ| Saitama |
Kurashiki | 倉敷市 | 477,086 | 2002-04-01 | Chūgoku | Okayama |
Kure | 呉市 | 236,595 | 2016-04-01 | Chūgoku | Hiroshima |
Kurume | 久留米市 | 301,821 | 2008-04-01 | Kyushu | Fukuoka |
Maebashi | 剿©‹å¸‚ | 338,481 | 2009-04-01 | KantÅ | Gunma |
Matsuyama | æ¾å±±å¸‚ | 516,823 | 2000-04-01 | Shikoku | Ehime |
Miyazaki | 宮崎市 | 402,289 | 1998-04-01 | Kyushu | Miyazaki |
Morioka | 盛岡市 | 299,734 | 2008-04-01 | TÅhoku | Iwate |
Naha | 那覇市 | 321,695 | 2013-04-01 | Kyushu | Okinawa |
Nagano | 長野市 | 380,581 | 1999-04-01 | Chūbu | Nagano |
Nagasaki | 長崎市 | 440,911 | 1997-04-01 | Kyushu | Nagasaki |
Nara | 奈良市 | 365,421 | 2002-04-01 | Kansai | Nara |
Nishinomiya | 西宮市 | 483,878 | 2008-04-01 | Kansai | HyÅgo |
Ōita | 大分市 | 476,008 | 1997-04-01 | Kyushu | Ōita |
Okazaki | 岡崎市 | 374,085 | 2003-04-01 | Chūbu | Aichi |
Ōtsu | 大津市 | 339,469 | 2009-04-01 | Kansai | Shiga |
Sasebo | ä½ä¸–ä¿å¸‚ | 259,676 | 2016-04-01 | Kyushu | Nagasaki |
Shimonoseki | 下関市 | 277,937 | 2005-10-01 | Chūgoku | Yamaguchi |
Takamatsu | 高æ¾å¸‚ | 420,356 | 1999-04-01 | Shikoku | Kagawa |
Takasaki | 高崎市 | 371,820 | 2011-04-01 | KantŠ| Gunma |
Takatsuki | 高槻市 | 355,840 | 2003-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
Toyama | 富山市 | 421,393 | 2005-04-01 | Chūbu | Toyama |
Toyohashi | 豊橋市 | 375,804 | 1999-04-01 | Chūbu | Aichi |
Toyonaka | 豊ä¸å¸‚ | 390,457 | 2012-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
Toyota | 豊田市 | 420,680 | 1998-04-01 | Chūbu | Aichi |
Utsunomiya | 宇都宮市 | 513,722 | 1996-04-01 | KantŠ| Tochigi |
Wakayama | å’ŒæŒå±±å¸‚ | 368,684 | 1997-04-01 | Kansai | Wakayama |
Yokosuka | æ¨ªé ˆè³€å¸‚ | 415,259 | 2001-04-01 | KantÅ | Kanagawa |
Former core cities
Name | Japanese | Date of designation | Date of reclassification | Region | Prefecture |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamamatsu | 浜æ¾å¸‚ | 1996-04-01 | 2007-04-01 (Designated city) | ChÅ«bu | Shizuoka |
Kumamoto | 熊本市 | 1996-04-01 | 2012-04-01 (Designated city) | Kyushu | Kumamoto |
Niigata | 新潟市 | 1996-04-01 | 2007-04-01 (Designated city) | Chūbu | Niigata |
Okayama | 岡山市 | 1996-04-01 | 2009-04-01 (Designated city) | Chūgoku | Okayama |
Sagamihara | 相模原市 | 2003-04-01 | 2010-04-01 (Designated city) | KantŠ| Kanagawa |
Sakai | å ºå¸‚ | 1996-04-01 | 2006-04-01 (Designated city) | Kansai | Osaka |
Shizuoka | é™å²¡å¸‚ | 1996-04-01 | 2005-04-01 (Designated city) | ChÅ«bu | Shizuoka |
Scheduled to become a core city
Name | Japanese | Scheduled date | Region | Prefecture |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chigasaki | 茅ヶ崎市 | 2018-04-01 | KantŠ| Kanagawa |
Fukushima | ç¦å³¶å¸‚ | 2017-??-?? | TÅhoku | Fukushima |
Hachinohe | 八戸市 | 2017-01-01 | TÅhoku | Aomori |
Kawaguchi | å·å£å¸‚ | 2018-04-01 | KantÅ | Saitama |
Kishiwada | 岸和田市 | 2018-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
KÅfu | 甲府市 | 2019-04-01 | ChÅ«bu | Yamanashi |
Matsue | æ¾æ±Ÿå¸‚ | 2018-04-01 | ChÅ«goku | Shimane |
Mito | 水戸市 | 2019-04-01 | KantŠ| Ibaraki |
Odawara | å°ç”°åŽŸå¸‚ | 2019-04-01 | KantÅ | Kanagawa |
Tottori | é³¥å–市 | 2019-04-01 | ChÅ«goku | Tottori |
Yamagata | 山形市 | 2019-04-01 | TÅhoku | Yamagata |
Yao | 八尾市 | 2018-04-01 | Kansai | Osaka |
Cities that meet the requirements but have not yet been nominated
The following cities have populations greater than 300,000 but have not yet been nominated. (Cities planning to apply for core city status are not shown. ※Special Cities)
Cities that do not meet the requirements but are planning to nominate
-
Nagaoka, Niigata - Seeking merger with Ojiya and Mitsuke.
-
Fukui, Fukui - Was scheduled to merge with 4 municipalities but the city of Sabae withdrew from the conference and thus failed to reach the requisite of 300,000 people.
See also
References
External links
- "Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s," by A.J. Jacobs at Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011); doi:10.1155/2011/692764
- "Large City System of Japan"; graphic shows core cities compared with other Japanese city types at p. 1 [PDF 7 of 40]
- "Growth in Second Tier Cities - Urban Policy Lessons from Japan" briefing by CLAIR London on classes of Japanese cities (PDF)
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