Core city
| This article is part of the series: Administrative divisions of Japan |
|---|
| Regional level |
| Regions (地方; Chihō) |
| Prefectural level |
| Prefectures (都道府県; To-dō-fu-ken ) |
| Subprefectural level |
| Subprefectures (支庁; Shichō) |
| Designated Cities (政令指定都市; Seirei-shitei-toshi) |
| Districts (郡; Gun) |
| Municipal level |
| Core Cities (中核市; Chūkaku-shi) |
| Special Cities (特例市; Tokurei-shi) |
| Cities (市; Shi) |
| Special Wards (特別区; Tokubetsu-ku) |
| Wards (区; Ku) |
| Towns (町; Chō / Machi) |
| Villages (村; Son / Mura) |
Core cities are cities of Japan designated by Article 252, Clause 22 and the first term of the Local Autonomy Law.
To be a core city, the city must satisfy the following stipulations:
- The population must be over 300,000.
- If the population is less than 500,000, the total area must be 100 km² in area.
The city is designated through the submission from the city and approvals from the assemblies of the city and the prefecture.
Core cities are delegated many functions normally carried out by prefectural governments, but not as many as Designated Cities.
List
As of 2005, the following 35 cities are designated:
- April 1, 1996
- April 1, 1997
- April 1, 1998
- April 1, 1999
- April 1, 2000
- April 1, 2001
- April 1, 2002
- April 1, 2003
- April 1, 2005
The following are cities that satisfy the stipulations but not are designated.