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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 2008, 39 cities have been designated core cities:

Region	Prefecture	Core City	Designated Date	Special Notes
Hokkaidō Region	Hokkaidō Prefecture	Asahikawa	April 1, 2000
		Hakodate	October 1, 2005
Tōhoku Region	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 Region	Tochigi Prefecture	Utsunomiya	April 1, 1996
	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	中核市の中で最も人口が多い[1]。
Chubu Region	Nagano Prefecture	Nagano	April 1, 1999
	Toyama Prefecture	Toyama	(April 1, 1996) April 1, 2005	reclassified due to the newly creation
	Ishikawa Prefecture	Kanazawa	April 1, 1996
	Gifu Prefecture	Gifu	April 1, 1996
	Aichi Prefecture	Toyota	April 1, 1998
		Toyohashi	April 1, 1999
		Okazaki	April 1, 2003
Kinki Region	Osaka Prefecture	Takatsuki	April 1, 2003
		Higashiosaka	April 1, 2005
	Hyōgo Prefecture	Himeji	April 1, 1996
		Nishinomiya	April 1, 2008
	Nara Prefecture	Nara	April 1, 2002
	Wakayama Prefecture	Wakayama	April 1, 1997
Chūgoku Region	Okayama Prefecture	Okayama	April 1, 1996	2009年4月1日に政令指定都市移行、中核市指定は失効する予定。
		Kurashiki	April 1, 2002
	Hiroshima Prefecture	Fukuyama	April 1, 1998
	Yamaguchi Prefecture	Shimonoseki	October 1, 2005	中核市の中で最も人口が少ない[1]。
Shikoku Region	Kagawa Prefecture	Takamatsu	April 1, 1999
	Ehime Prefecture	Matsuyama	April 1, 2000
	Kōchi Prefecture	Kōchi	April 1, 1998
Kyūshū Region	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, achieved the status of designated city in 2005.

• Sakai, Osaka Prefecture

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

• Niigata, Niigata Prefecture

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

• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture

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

[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.

=== Scheduled to become a core city ===' Already approved

• April 1, 2009
  • Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture
  • Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture
  • Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture

Undetermined

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

[edit] Cities already have the requirements but not yet 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 does not have the requirements but 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.