(Circle click-able)
■ ― Designated cities
■ ― Core cities
■ ― Special cities

A core city (中核市, Chūkakushi^?) is a class of Japanese city created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 22 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan. 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 satisfy the following condition:

1. A population greater than 300,000.

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

[edit] List of core cities

As of 2009, 41 cities have been designated core cities:

Region	Prefecture	Core City	Designated Date	Notes
Hokkaidō	Hokkaidō	Asahikawa	April 1, 2000
		Hakodate	October 1, 2005
Tōhoku	Aomori Prefecture	Aomori	October 1, 2006
	Iwate Prefecture	Morioka	April 1, 2008
	Akita Prefecture	Akita	April 1, 1997
	Fukushima Prefecture	Kōriyama	April 1, 1997
		Iwaki	April 1, 1999
Kantō	Tochigi Prefecture	Utsunomiya	April 1, 1996
	Gunma Prefecture	Maebashi	April 1, 2009	Was a special city until March 31, 2009
	Saitama Prefecture	Kawagoe	April 1, 2003
	Chiba Prefecture	Funabashi	April 1, 2003
		Kashiwa	April 1, 2008
	Kanagawa Prefecture	Yokosuka	April 1, 2001
		Sagamihara	April 1, 2003	The most populous Core City. [1]
Chūbu	Toyama Prefecture	Toyama	(April 1, 1996) April 1, 2005	Reclassified due to the newly creation
	Ishikawa Prefecture	Kanazawa	April 1, 1996
	Nagano Prefecture	Nagano	April 1, 1999
	Gifu Prefecture	Gifu	April 1, 1996
	Aichi Prefecture	Toyota	April 1, 1998
		Toyohashi	April 1, 1999
		Okazaki	April 1, 2003
Kansai	Shiga Prefecture	Ōtsu	April 1, 2009	Was a special city until March 31, 2009
	Osaka Prefecture	Takatsuki	April 1, 2003
		Higashiosaka	April 1, 2005
	Hyōgo Prefecture	Himeji	April 1, 1996
		Nishinomiya	April 1, 2008
		Amagasaki	April 1, 2009	Was a special city until March 31, 2009
	Nara Prefecture	Nara	April 1, 2002
	Wakayama Prefecture	Wakayama	April 1, 1997
Chūgoku	Okayama Prefecture	Kurashiki	April 1, 2002
	Hiroshima Prefecture	Fukuyama	April 1, 1998
	Yamaguchi Prefecture	Shimonoseki	October 1, 2005	The least populous Core City. [1]
Shikoku	Kagawa Prefecture	Takamatsu	April 1, 1999
	Ehime Prefecture	Matsuyama	April 1, 2000
	Kōchi Prefecture	Kōchi	April 1, 1998
Kyūshū	Fukuoka Prefecture	Kurume	April 1, 2008
	Nagasaki Prefecture	Nagasaki	April 1, 1997
	Kumamoto Prefecture	Kumamoto	April 1, 1996
	Ōita Prefecture	Ōita	April 1, 1997
	Miyazaki Prefecture	Miyazaki	April 1, 1998
	Kagoshima Prefecture	Kagoshima	April 1, 1996

[edit] Former core cities

• Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture

  Designated on April 1, 1996, redesignated as a core city after the former cities of Shimizu and Shizuoka merged to form the new city of Shizuoka on April 1, 2003, became a designated city on April 1, 2005.

• Sakai, Osaka Prefecture

  Designated on April 1, 1996, achieved the status of designated city on April 1, 2006.

• Niigata, Niigata Prefecture

  Designated on April 1, 1996, achieved the status of designated city on April 1, 2007.

• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture

  Designated on April 1, 1996, achieved the status of designated city on April 1, 2007.

• Okayama, Okayama Prefecture

  Designated on April 1, 1996, achieved the status of designated city on April 1, 2009.

[edit] Core city Requirements

1. A population greater than 300,000.

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

[edit] Scheduled to become a core city

Undetermined

• During 2010
  • Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture
• April 1, 2011
  • Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
• Undetermined date
  • Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture

[edit] 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)

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

• Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture - Seeking merger with Kitamatsuura and Higashisonogi Districts.
• Fukui, Fukui Prefecture - 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.

[edit] Notes