Special cities of Japan

Special Cities (特例市, Tokureishi^?) of Japan are cities with populations of at least 200,000, and are delegated a subset of the functions delegated to core cities.

This category was established by the Local Autonomy Law, article 252 clause 26. They are designated by the Cabinet after a request by the city council and the prefectural assembly.

The special cities are not the same as the special wards of Tokyo.

List of Special Cities

Currently, 43 cities have been designated as Special Cities.

地方(Region)	都道府県(Prefecture)	特例市(Special City)	指定日(Date of Designation)	特記事項(Remarks)
Tōhoku	Aomori Prefecture	Hachinohe	April 1, 2001
	Yamagata Prefecture	Yamagata, Yamagata	April 1, 2001
Kantō	Ibaraki Prefecture	Mito	April 1, 2001
		Tsukuba	April 1, 2007
	Gunma Prefecture	Takasaki	April 1, 2001
		Isesaki	April 1, 2007
		Ōta	April 1, 2007
	Saitama Prefecture	Kawaguchi	April 1, 2001	The most populous Special City[1]。
		Tokorozawa	April 1, 2002
		Koshigaya	April 1, 2003
		Sōka	April 1, 2004
		Kasukabe	April 1, 2008
		Kumagaya	April 1, 2009
	Kanagawa Prefecture	Odawara	November 1, 2000
		Yamato	November 1, 2000
		Hiratsuka	April 1, 2001
		Atsugi	April 1, 2002
		Chigasaki	April 1, 2003
Chūbu	Niigata Prefecture	Jōetsu	April 1, 2007
		Nagaoka	April 1, 2007
	Fukui Prefecture	Fukui	November 1, 2000
	Yamanashi Prefecture	Kōfu	November 1, 2000	The least populous Special City[1]。
	Nagano Prefecture	Matsumoto	November 1, 2000
	Shizuoka Prefecture	Numazu	November 1, 2000
		Fuji	April 1, 2001
	Aichi Prefecture	Kasugai	April 1, 2001
		Ichinomiya	April 1, 2002
Kinki	Mie Prefecture	Yokkaichi	November 1, 2000
	Osaka Prefecture	Toyonaka	April 1, 2001
		Suita	April 1, 2001
		Hirakata	April 1, 2001
		Ibaraki	April 1, 2001
		Yao	April 1, 2001
		Neyagawa	April 1, 2001
		Kishiwada	April 1, 2002
	Hyōgo Prefecture	Akashi	April 1, 2002
		Kakogawa	April 1, 2002
		Takarazuka	April 1, 2003
Chūgoku	Hiroshima Prefecture	Kure	November 1, 2000
	Tottori Prefecture	Tottori	October 1, 2005
Kyūshū	Nagasaki Prefecture	Sasebo	April 1, 2001

Former special cities now core or designated cities

• Hakodate (Hokkaidō)

Became a special city on November 1, 2000; achieved the status of Core city on October 1, 2005.

• Shimizu (Shizuoka Prefecture)

Became a special city on April 1, 2001; on April 1, 2003 the city merged with the old core city of Shizuoka to form the new core city of Shizuoka; achieved the status of designated city of April 1, 2005. The former city of Shimizu is the only city to become an ordinary, special, core, and designated city, or once designated in the past.

• Shimonoseki (Yamaguchi Prefecture)

Became a special city of April 1, 2002; Redesignated on February 13, 2005 when the city merged with the former towns of Kikugawa, Toyota, Toyoura, and Hōhoku to form the new city of Shimonoseki; achieved the status of Core city in 2005.

• Morioka (Iwate Prefecture)

Became a special city of November 1, 2000; achieved the status of Core city in April 1, 2008.

• Kurume (Fukuoka Prefecture)

Became a special city of April 1, 2001; achieved the status of Core city in April 1, 2008.

Cities that have the requirements but are not yet designated

The following cities have the population of more than 200,000 people but have not yet been designated (Scheduled to become a special city are not in this list)

Notes