Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s

Table 3

Progression of Japan’s Tokurei-shi (Special Case Cities) November 1, 2000-April 1, 2011⁽¹⁾.

Date authorized	City name (alphabetically listed)	Number authorized	Total
Nov 1, 2000	Fukui, Hakodate, Kofu, Kure, Matsumoto, Morioka, Numazu, Odawara, Yokkaichi, Yamato	10	10
April 1, 2001		Amagasaki, Fuji, Hachinohe, Hirakata, Hiratsuka, Ibaraki, Kasugai, Kawaguchi, Kurume, Maebashi, Mito, Neyagawa, Otsu, Sasebo, Shimizu, Suita, Takasaki, Toyonaka, Yamagata, Yao	20	30
April 1, 2002	Akashi, Atsugi, Ichinomiya, Kakogawa, Kishiwada, Shimonoseki, Tokorozawa,		7	37
April 1, 2003			Chigasaki, Koshigaya, Takarazuka; Shimizu merges with Core City, Shizuoka	3	39
April 1, 2004	Soka	1		40
Oct 1, 2005	Tottori^(a); Hakodate and Shimonoseki become Core Cities	1	39
April 1, 2007		Isesaki^(m), Joetsu^(a), Nagaoka^(a), Ota^(m), Tsukuba^(a)	5	44
April 1, 2008	Kasukabe; Kurume, and Morioka become Core Cities	1	43
April 1, 2009		Kumagaya^(a); Amagasaki, Maebashi, and Otsu become Core Cities	1	41
April 1, 2011	Takasaki becomes a Core City			40

Source: [100].
Notes: (1)The nine cities in parenthesis have risen to Core City status or above by April 1, 2010.
^(a)Achieved the status by annexing adjacent municipalities. ^(m)Achieved the status by merging with adjacent municipalities. Ota is listed as a merger by the MIC, but it was a city of 147,000 residents in 2000 that essentially annexed three adjacent towns.