Core cities of Japan

is a defined class or category of Japanese cities.  It is a local administrative division created by the national government.Web-Japan.org,  "Local self-government," p. 3; retrieved 2012-11-28.  All core cities have a population greater than 300,000.United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP),  "Country paper:Japan, Local Government Categories" ; retrieved 2012-11-28.   

History
The core cities were created because of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.  Each city does many of the things normally done by prefectures.  

List
Core cities were recognized starting in 1996.Jacobs, A.J.  "Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s," Urban Studies Research, (2011);  doi:10.1155/2011/692764; retrieved 2012-12-5. There are 40+ of these cities, including
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 Akita, 1997Jacobs,  Table 2; retrieved 2012-12-5.
 Amagasaki, 2009Buhnik, Sophie.  "From Shrinking Cities to Toshi no Shukushō: Identifying Patterns of Urban Shrinkage in the Osaka Metropolitan Area," Berkeley Planning Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2001), p. 135 [PDF 4 of 24]; retrieved 2012-12-2.
 Aomori, 2006
 Asahikawa, 2000
 Fukuyama, 1998
 Funabashi, 2003
 Gifu, 1996
 Hakodate, 2005
 Higashiōsaka, 2005
 Himeji, 1996
 Iwaki, 1999
 Kagoshima, 1996
 Kanazawa, 1996
 Kashiwa, 2008 "Core city with population of 380000. Resource recovery and enlightenment business of Kashiwa city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, through establishing "recycling plaza" with nickname "Ribbon-Kan building" arousing citizen's sympathy toward waste reduction," Journal of Solid & Liquid Wastes, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 38-43 (2006); retrieved 2012-12-2. 
 Kawagoe, 2003
 Kōchi, 1998 "Kochi" at Triposo.com; excerpt, "... first core city on Shikoku"; retrieved 2012-12-5.
 Kōriyama, 1997
 Kurashiki, 2002Inaba, Yushi. (2009). "Japan's New Local Industry Creation: Joint Entrepreneurship,'' p. 96.
 Kurume, 2008Hoshiko M. et al.  "Assessing the validity of health impact assessment predictions regarding a Japanese city's transition to core city status: a monitoring review," Public Health 2012 Feb ; Vol. 126, No. 2, pp. 168-176; retrieved 2012-12-2.
 Maebashi, 2009Jacobs, A.J.  "Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s," Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011), p. 8 [PDF 8 of 14]; retrieved 2012-12-5.
 Matsuyama, 2000
 Miyazaki, 1998
 Morioka, 2008
 Nagano, 1999
 Nagasaki, 1997
 Naha, 2013 "Naha starts as regional hub city in Okinawa," Ryukyu Shimpo, 2 April 2013; retrieved 2013-4-17.
 Nara, 2002
 Nishinomiya, 2008
 Ōita, 1997
 Okazaki, 2003
 Okayama
 Ōtsu, 2009
 Shimonoseki, 2005
 Takamatsu, 1999
 Takasaki, 2011
 Takatsuki, 2003
 Toyama, 1996City of Toyama,  "About Toyama" ; retrieved   2012-12-2.
 Toyohashi, 1999
 Toyonaka
 Toyota, 1998
 Utsunomiya, 1996
 Wakayama, 1997
 Yokosuka, 2001

Related pages

 Administrative division
 Urban area
 Municipalities in Japan

 References 

Other websites
  "Large City System of Japan"; graphic shows core cities in context [PDF 7 of 40]