Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan facts for kids

Map showing designated cities in Japan.

A designated city (in Japanese, seirei shitei toshi) is a special type of city in Japan. To become one, a city needs to have more than 500,000 people. The Japanese government, specifically the Cabinet of Japan, gives these cities their special status under a law called the Local Autonomy Law.

These designated cities get to handle many tasks that are usually managed by the larger prefectural governments. This includes things like public schools, helping people in need (social welfare), keeping the city clean (sanitation), giving out business licenses, and planning how the city grows. While the city government handles the everyday tasks, the prefectural government still makes the bigger decisions. For example, a designated city can give licenses to small clinics, but bigger hospitals need a license from the prefectural government.

Designated cities also have to divide themselves into smaller areas called wards (ku in Japanese). These wards are a bit like the boroughs you might find in big cities like London or New York. Each ward has its own office that helps with city services. They handle things like registering residents (koseki and juminhyo) and collecting taxes. In some cities, these ward offices even help with business licenses or building permits. The city itself decides how these wards are set up and what powers they have.

It's important to know that the 23 special wards of Tokyo are different. Tokyo is actually a prefecture, and its wards act more like independent cities. Even though some Tokyo wards, like Setagaya and Nerima, have enough people to be designated cities, they aren't considered "cities" under this special law, so they don't get the designated city status.

Once a city becomes a designated city, it has never lost that status.

What is a Designated City?

In Japan, a designated city is a large city that has been given extra powers by the national government. This means they can manage more of their own affairs instead of relying on the larger prefectural government.

Special Powers of These Cities

Designated cities have more control over their local services. They can manage:

• Education: Running local schools and educational programs.
• Social Welfare: Providing support and services for citizens in need.
• Sanitation: Managing waste collection and public health.
• Business Licensing: Approving licenses for many local businesses.
• Urban Planning: Deciding how the city develops and grows.

How Wards Work

Every designated city is split into smaller areas called wards. Think of them as neighborhoods with their own mini-government offices. These ward offices make it easier for people to access city services close to where they live. They help with things like:

• Registering new residents.
• Collecting local taxes.
• Handling permits for small businesses or construction.

Tokyo's Special Wards

Tokyo is unique. It's not just a city; it's also a prefecture. The areas often thought of as "Tokyo City" are actually 23 separate special wards. These wards act almost like independent cities themselves. They are not part of the designated city system we're talking about here.

List of Designated Cities

Here are the cities in Japan that have been designated by the government. These cities have been special since 1956.

Name	Japanese	Skyline	Flag	Emblem	Area (km2)	Population	Population density	Date of designation	Region	Prefecture	No. of wards	Lists of wards	Map
Chiba	千葉市				271.77	972,861	3,613	1992-04-01	Kantō	Chiba	06	List
Fukuoka	福岡市				343.39	1,579,450	4,668	1972-04-01	Kyushu	Fukuoka	07	List
Hamamatsu	浜松市				1,558.06	795,350	506	2007-04-01	Chūbu	Shizuoka	07	List
Hiroshima	広島市				906.68	1,194,524	1,321	1980-04-01	Chūgoku	Hiroshima	08	List
Kawasaki	川崎市				143.01	1,503,690	10,765	1972-04-01	Kantō	Kanagawa	07	List
Kitakyushu	北九州市				491.95	945,595	1,901	1963-04-01	Kyushu	Fukuoka	07	List
Kobe	神戸市				557.02	1,526,639	2,719	1956-09-01	Kansai	Hyōgo	09	List
Kumamoto	熊本市				390.32	737,812	1,892	2012-04-01	Kyushu	Kumamoto	05	List
Kyoto	京都市				827.83	1,468,980	1,758	1956-09-01	Kansai	Kyoto	11	List
Nagoya	名古屋市				326.45	2,283,289	7,128	1956-09-01	Chūbu	Aichi	16	List
Niigata	新潟市				726.45	807,450	1,089	2007-04-01	Chūbu	Niigata	08	List
Okayama	岡山市				789.95	720,841	912	2009-04-01	Chūgoku	Okayama	04	List
Osaka	大阪市				225.21	2,727,255	12,226	1956-09-01	Kansai	Osaka	24	List
Sagamihara	相模原市				328.91	720,986	2,198	2010-04-01	Kantō	Kanagawa	03	List
Saitama	さいたま市				217.43	1,226,656	6,072	2003-04-01	Kantō	Saitama	10	List
Sakai	堺市				149.82	833,544	5,500	2006-04-01	Kansai	Osaka	07	List
Sapporo	札幌市				1,121.26	1,955,115	1,750	1972-04-01	Hokkaido	Hokkaido	10	List
Sendai	仙台市				786.30	1,088,669	1,389	1989-04-01	Tōhoku	Miyagi	05	List
Shizuoka	静岡市				1,411.90	697,578	486	2005-04-01	Chūbu	Shizuoka	03	List
Yokohama	横浜市				437.56	3,732,616	8,588	1956-09-01	Kantō	Kanagawa	18	List

How a City Becomes Designated

For a city to become a designated city, it must meet certain requirements:

• It needs to have a population of more than 500,000 people.
• Both the city's local assembly and the prefectural assembly must agree to the designation.
• The city then applies to the national government.

Cities That Could Be Designated

Some cities in Japan already have populations over 500,000 but haven't yet been designated. Here are a few examples:

Name	Japanese	Flag	Emblem	Area (km2)	Population (2012)	Region	Prefecture	Map
Funabashi	船橋市			85.62	610,492	Kantō	Chiba
Hachiōji	八王子市			186.38	579,799	Kantō	Tokyo
Himeji	姫路市			534.43	536,218	Kansai	Hyōgo
Kagoshima	鹿児島市			547.58	607,257	Kyushu	Kagoshima
Kawaguchi	川口市			61.95	561,788	Kantō	Saitama
Matsuyama	松山市			429.40	516,823	Shikoku	Ehime
Utsunomiya	宇都宮市			416.85	513,722	Kantō	Tochigi

A Look Back: History of Designated Cities

The idea of special cities in Japan started way back in 1878. Back then, every city had "wards," but the biggest cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto had many wards.

Later, in 1889, city assemblies were created, but Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto still had their ward assemblies. By 1898, these three big cities were allowed to form their own city assemblies. More cities like Nagoya (1908), Yokohama (1927), and Kobe (1931) also adopted the ward system before World War II.

After the war, in 1947, a new law called the Local Autonomy Law was passed. The five cities that were already divided into wards (Tokyo had become a prefecture by then) were called "special cities." This "special city" system was then changed to the "designated city" system in 1956.

For a while, the government wanted designated cities to be expected to reach a population of one million people soon. But in 2005, this rule was changed. This made it easier for some large cities, especially those that had grown bigger by merging with nearby towns, to become designated cities.

Images for kids

• Japan Kanto

  Designated cities in the Kanto region.

• Japan Kansai

  Designated cities in the Kansai and Western Tōkai areas.

• Japan complete

  Designated cities in Japan (except for Kanto and Kansai).

See also

In Spanish: Ciudades japonesas designadas por decreto gubernamental para niños