Core cities of Japan

This article is about the class of Japanese cities. For the group of English cities, see Core Cities Group.

(Circle click-able)

■ ― Designated cities

■ ― Core cities

■ ― Special cities

Administrative divisions of Japan
Prefectural
Prefectures
Sub-prefectural
Subprefectures Districts
Municipal
Designated cities Core cities Special cities Cities Special wards (Tokyo) Towns Villages
Sub-municipal
Wards
v t e

A core city (中核市, Chūkakushi) 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] After the abolition of special city status on Apri 1, 2015, any city with a population above 200,000 may apply for core city status.^[3]

Application for designation is made by a city with the approval of both the city and prefectural assemblies.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 List of core cities
  


• 
  3 Former core cities
  


• 
  4 Scheduled to become a core city
  


• 
  5 Cities that meet the requirements but have not yet been nominated
  


• 
  6 Cities that do not meet the requirements but are planning to nominate
  


• 
  7 See also
  


• 
  8 References
  


• 
  9 External links
  

History

The term "core city" was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 22 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.^[4]

List of core cities

As of 1 April 2018, 54 cities have been designated core cities:

Name	Japanese	Population (2012)	Date of designation	Region	Prefecture
Akashi	明石市		2018-04-01	Kansai	Hyōgo
Akita	秋田市	322,224	1997-04-01	Tōhoku	Akita
Amagasaki	尼崎市	451,353	2009-04-01	Kansai	Hyōgo
Aomori	青森市	297,348	2006-10-01	Tōhoku	Aomori
Asahikawa	旭川市	351,765	2000-04-01	Hokkaidō	Hokkaidō
Fukushima	福島市		2018-04-01	Tōhoku	Fukushima
Fukuyama	福山市	462,144	1998-04-01	Chūgoku	Hiroshima
Funabashi	船橋市	610,492	2003-04-01	Kantō	Chiba
Gifu	岐阜市	412,718	1996-04-01	Chūbu	Gifu
Hachinohe	八戸市	241,613	2017-01-01	Tōhoku	Aomori
Hachiōji	八王子市	579,799	2015-04-01	Kantō	Tokyo
Hakodate	函館市	279,056	2005-10-01	Hokkaidō	Hokkaidō
Higashiōsaka	東大阪市	508,267	2005-04-01	Kansai	Osaka
Himeji	姫路市	536,218	1996-04-01	Kansai	Hyōgo
Hirakata	枚方市	407,997	2014-04-01	Kansai	Osaka
Iwaki	いわき市	332,994	1999-04-01	Tōhoku	Fukushima
Kagoshima	鹿児島市	607,257	1996-04-01	Kyushu	Kagoshima
Kashiwa	柏市	404,863	2008-04-01	Kantō	Chiba
Kanazawa	金沢市	462,796	1996-04-01	Chūbu	Ishikawa
Kawagoe	川越市	345,361	2003-04-01	Kantō	Saitama
Kawaguchi	川口市		2018-04-01	Kantō	Saitama
Kōchi	高知市	342,568	1998-04-01	Shikoku	Kōchi
Kōriyama	郡山市	331,140	1997-04-01	Tōhoku	Fukushima
Koshigaya	越谷市	328,079	2015-04-01	Kantō	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	前橋市	338,481	2009-04-01	Kantō	Gunma
Matsue	松江市		2018-04-01	Chūgoku	Shimane
Matsuyama	松山市	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	Tōhoku	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	Hyōgo
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	佐世保市	259,676	2016-04-01	Kyushu	Nagasaki
Shimonoseki	下関市	277,937	2005-10-01	Chūgoku	Yamaguchi
Takamatsu	高松市	420,356	1999-04-01	Shikoku	Kagawa
Takasaki	高崎市	371,820	2011-04-01	Kantō	Gunma
Takatsuki	高槻市	355,840	2003-04-01	Kansai	Osaka
Tottori	鳥取市		2019-04-01	Chūgoku	Tottori
Toyama	富山市	421,393	2005-04-01	Chūbu	Toyama
Toyohashi	豊橋市	375,804	1999-04-01	Chūbu	Aichi
Toyonaka	豊中市	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	Kantō	Tochigi
Wakayama	和歌山市	368,684	1997-04-01	Kansai	Wakayama
Yao	八尾市		2018-04-01	Kansai	Osaka
Yokosuka	横須賀市	415,259	2001-04-01	Kantō	Kanagawa

Former core cities

Name	Japanese	Date of designation	Date of reclassification	Region	Prefecture
Hamamatsu	浜松市	1996-04-01	2007-04-01 (Designated city)	Chūbu	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)	Kantō	Kanagawa
Sakai	堺市	1996-04-01	2006-04-01 (Designated city)	Kansai	Osaka
Shizuoka	静岡市	1996-04-01	2005-04-01 (Designated city)	Chūbu	Shizuoka

Scheduled to become a core city

Name	Japanese	Scheduled date	Region	Prefecture
Chigasaki	茅ヶ崎市	2019-04-01	Kantō	Kanagawa
Fukui	福井市	2019-04-01	Chūbu	Fukui
Kishiwada	岸和田市	2019-04-01	Kansai	Osaka
Kōfu	甲府市	2019-04-01	Chūbu	Yamanashi
Matsumoto	松本市	2020-04-01	Chūbu	Nagano
Mito	水戸市	2019-04-01	Kantō	Ibaraki
Odawara	小田原市	2019-04-01	Kantō	Kanagawa
Yamagata	山形市	2019-04-01	Tōhoku	Yamagata

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)

Tokorozawa, Saitama※ Matsudo, Chiba Ichikawa, Chiba

Machida, Tokyo Fujisawa, Kanagawa Suita, Osaka※

Cities that do not meet the requirements but are planning to nominate

• 
  Nagaoka, Niigata - Seeking merger with Ojiya and Mitsuke.

See also

• Administrative division


• Urban area

References

1. 
   ^ Web-Japan.org, "Local self-government," p. 3; retrieved 2012-11-28.
   


2. 
   ^ 日本財団図書館（電子図書館）　Ｒｅｖｉｓｅｄ Ｌｏｃａｌ Ａｕｔｏｎｏｍｙ Ｌａｗ. nippon.zaidan.info..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


3. 
   ^ 日本總務省 - 中核市・施行時特例市. soumo.go.jp (in Japanese).
   


4. 
   ^ 日本財団図書館（電子図書館）　Ｒｅｖｉｓｅｄ Ｌｏｃａｌ Ａｕｔｏｎｏｍｙ Ｌａｗ. nippon.zaidan.info.
   

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)

v t e Metropolitan cities of Japan
Tokyo Metropolis Special wards of Tokyo※ Adachi Arakawa Bunkyo Chiyoda Chūō Edogawa Itabashi Katsushika Kita Koto Meguro Minato Nakano Nerima Ōta Setagaya Shibuya Shinagawa Shinjuku Suginami Sumida Toshima Taitō Designated cities Chiba※ Fukuoka※ Hamamatsu Hiroshima※ Kawasaki Kitakyushu Kobe※ Kumamoto※ Kyoto※ Nagoya※ Niigata※ Okayama※ Osaka※ Sagamihara Saitama※ Sakai Sapporo※ Sendai※ Shizuoka※ Yokohama※ Core cities Akashi Akita※ Amagasaki Aomori※ Asahikawa Fukushima※ Fukuyama Funabashi Gifu※ Hachinohe Hachiōji Hakodate Higashiōsaka Himeji Hirakata Iwaki Kagoshima※ Kanazawa※ Kashiwa Kawagoe Kawaguchi Kōchi※ Kōriyama Koshigaya Kurashiki Kure Kurume Maebashi※ Matsue※ Matsuyama※ Miyazaki※ Morioka※ Naha※ Nagano※ Nagasaki※ Nara※ Nishinomiya Ōita※ Okazaki Ōtsu※ Sasebo Shimonoseki Takamatsu※ Takasaki Takatsuki Tottori※ Toyama※ Toyohashi Toyonaka Toyota Utsunomiya※ Wakayama※ Yao Yokosuka Special cities Atsugi Chigasaki Fuji Fukui※ Hiratsuka Ibaraki Ichinomiya Isesaki Jōetsu Kakogawa Kasugai Kasukabe Kishiwada Kōfu※ Kumagaya Matsumoto Mito※ Nagaoka Neyagawa Numazu Odawara Ōta Saga※ Sōka Suita Takarazuka Tokorozawa Tsukuba Yamagata※ Yamato Yokkaichi Prefectural capitals Tsu Tokushima Yamaguchi
Note: ※ also a prefectural capital

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