CITY DESIGNATED BY GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE (JAPAN)

A 'city designated by government ordinance' (a 'designated city' or 'Government Ordinance City' (Japanese: 政令指定都市 ''seirei shitei toshi'' or 政令市 ''seirei shi'')) is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000; has important economic and industrial functions; and that is considered a "major city". The classification was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 19 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.
As of 2007, no cities that have been granted this status have later lost it.
Designated cities are delegated many of the functions normally performed by prefectural governments, making them almost on par with the prefectures themselves. Tokyo is notably absent from the list, as it is legally not a single city; instead, Tokyo is Japan's sole designated metropolis (都 ''to'') and has full prefectural powers.

Contents

List of designated cities

External links

List of designated cities

The list designated cities of Japan below is arranged by the date they were granted designation status.

★ Kobe (1956)

★ Kyoto (1956)

★ Nagoya (1956)

★ Osaka (1956)

★ Yokohama (1956)

★ Kitakyushu (1963)

★ Fukuoka (1972)

★ Kawasaki (1972)

★ Sapporo (1972)

★ Hiroshima (1980)

★ Sendai (1989)

★ Chiba (1992)

★ Saitama (2003)

★ Shizuoka (2005)

★ Sakai (April 1 2006)

★ Niigata (April 1 2007)

★ Hamamatsu (April 1 2007)
Okayama and Sagamihara are slated to become designated somewhere in the 2000s, due to the possible upcoming mergers.

External links

★ Text of the Local Government Law