cities designated by government ordinance of Japan

{{Location map+ | Japan complete

| width = 300

| caption = Designated cites in Japan (except for Kanto region and Kansai area)
7: Okayama, 8: Hiroshima, 9: Kitakyushu

| places =

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Sapporo

| position =

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Sapporo

| lat_deg = 43 | lat_min = 4 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 141 | lon_min = 21 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~| Japan complete

| label = Sendai

| position =

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Sendai

| lat_deg = 38 | lat_min = 16 | lat_sec = 5.6 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 140 | lon_min = 52 | lon_sec = 9.9 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~| Japan complete

| label = Niigata

| position = left

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Niigata (city)

| lat_deg = 37 | lat_min = 54 | lat_sec = 58.3 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 139| lon_min = 2| lon_sec = 11 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Shizuoka

| position = right

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Shizuoka (city)

| lat_deg = 34| lat_min = 58 | lat_sec = 32 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 138| lon_min = 22 | lon_sec = 58 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Hamamatsu

| position = bottom

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Hamamatsu

| link = Hamamatsu

| lat_deg = 34| lat_min = 42 | lat_sec = 39 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 137| lon_min = 43 | lon_sec = 39 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Nagoya

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Nagoya

| link = Nagoya

| lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 11 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 136 | lon_min = 54 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = 7

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Okayama

| link = Okayama

| lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 39 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 133 | lon_min = 55 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = 8

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Hiroshima

| link = Hiroshima

| lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 23 | lat_sec = 7 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 132 | lon_min = 27 | lon_sec = 19 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = 9

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Kitakyushu

| link = Kitakyushu

| lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 53 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 130 | lon_min = 53 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Fukuoka

| position = left

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Fukuoka

| link = Fukuoka

| lat_deg = 33 | lat_min = 35 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 130 | lon_min = 24 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan complete

| label = Kumamoto

| position = right

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Kumamoto

| link = Kumamoto

| lat_deg = 32 | lat_min = 47 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 130 | lon_min = 44 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

}}

{{Location map+ | Japan Kanto

| width = 300

| caption = Designated cites in Kanto region area

| places =

{{Location map~ | Japan Kanto

| label = Saitama

| position =top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Saitama (city)

| lat_deg = 35| lat_min = 51 | lat_sec = 41 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 139| lon_min = 38| lon_sec = 44 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~| Japan Kanto

| label = Chiba

| position =

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Chiba (city)

| lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 36 | lat_sec = 26.2 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 140 | lon_min = 6 | lon_sec = 22.9 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~| Japan Kanto

| label = Kawasaki

| position =

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Kawasaki, Kanagawa

| lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 31 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 139| lon_min = 42| lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kanto

| label = Yokohama

| position =left

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Yokohama

| lat_deg = 35| lat_min = 26 | lat_sec = 39 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 139| lon_min = 38| lon_sec = 17 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kanto

| label = Sagamihara

| position =left

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt =

| link = Sagamihara

| lat_deg = 35| lat_min = 34 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 139| lon_min = 22 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

}}

{{Location map+ | Japan Kansai

| width = 300

| caption = Designated cites in Kansai area and Western Tōkai area

| places =

{{Location map~ | Japan Kansai

| label = Nagoya

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Nagoya

| link = Nagoya

| lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 11 | lat_sec = | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 136 | lon_min = 54 | lon_sec = | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kansai

| label = Kyoto

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Kyoto

| link = Kyoto

| lat_deg = 35 | lat_min = 0 | lat_sec = 42 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 135 | lon_min = 46 | lon_sec = 6 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kansai

| label = Osaka

| position =

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Osaka

| link = Osaka

| lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 41 | lat_sec = 38 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 135 | lon_min = 30 | lon_sec = 8 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kansai

| label = Sakai

| position = bottom

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Sakai

| link = Sakai

| lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 34 | lat_sec = 24 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 135 | lon_min = 28 | lon_sec = 59 | lon_dir = E

}}

{{Location map~ | Japan Kansai

| label = Kobe

| position = top

| background =

| mark = Red pog.svg

| alt = Kobe

| link = Kobe

| lat_deg = 34 | lat_min = 41 | lat_sec = 24 | lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 135 | lon_min = 11 | lon_sec = 44 | lon_dir = E

}}

}}

Cities designated by government ordinance have been established since 1956.{{cite web |author=Jacobs, A.J. |url=http://www.hindawi.com/journals/usr/2011/692764/ |title=Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s |publisher=Hindawi, Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011), doi:10.1155/2011/692764 |access-date=March 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801090045/http://www.hindawi.com/journals/usr/2011/692764/ |archive-date=1 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}

To become a candidate for designated city status, a city must have a population greater than 500,000. An application for designation is made by a city with the approval of both the city and the prefectural assemblies.

The following cities have populations greater than 500,000 but have not yet been nominated.

The first form of the designated city system was enacted under Japan local government system in 1878 with the introduction of "wards." Under that system, wards existed in every city. Most cities had only one ward, but the largest cities at the time (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) were divided into 15, four, and two wards, respectively.

The municipal system enacted in 1889 replaced ward assemblies with city assemblies but retained ward assemblies in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, which had no assembly of their own but were governed by the prefectural assembly. In 1898, the three cities were allowed to form city assemblies. The ward system was adopted by three more cities prior to World War II: Nagoya (1908), Yokohama (1927), and Kobe (1931). Under a 1911 statute, wards were granted a corporate personality and so treated as local entities.

Following the war, the 1947 Local Autonomy Law grandfathered in the five subdivided cities (Tokyo having become a prefecture in 1943) as {{nihongo|special cities|特別市|tokubetsu shi}}. The system was replaced by the designated city system when the Local Autonomy Law was amended, in 1956.

During the ensuing Japanese economic growth period, the government required designated cities to be forecast to reach a population of one million within the near future, but the requirement was dropped in 2005 to 700,000 to accommodate several geographically large cities that were formed by mergers, under the government of Junichiro Koizumi.

• Administrative divisions of Japan
• Urban area

{{Reflist}}

• [http://citymayors.com/mayors/japanese-mayors.html Directory of Designated Cities and Mayors (in English)]
• [http://www.hindawi.com/journals/usr/2011/692764/ "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
• [http://www3.grips.ac.jp/~coslog/activity/01/04/file/Bunyabetsu-20_en.pdf "Large City System of Japan"; graphic shows designated cities compared with other Japanese city types at p. 1 [PDF 7 of 40]]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003710/http://www.corecities.com/sites/default/files/images/publications/Growth%20in%20second%20tier%20cities%20-%20urban%20policy%20lessons%20from%20Japan_0.pdf "Growth in Second Tier Cities – Urban Policy Lessons from Japan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917003255/http://www3.grips.ac.jp/~coslog/activity/01/04/file/Bunyabetsu-20_en.pdf |date=17 September 2019 }} briefing by CLAIR London on classes of Japanese cities (PDF)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050205041444/http://law.e-gov.go.jp/htmldata/S22/S22HO067.html Text of the Local Government Law] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Metropolitan cities of Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:City Designated By Government Ordinance}}

Category:Subdivisions of Japan

Category:Law of Japan

Category:Local government in Japan