A city designated by government ordinance, or Government Ordinance City (政令指定都市 seirei shitei toshi) is a city of Japan that has a population greater than 500,000 and important economic and industrial functions, and that is considered a "major city" in Japan.  The classification was created by the first clause of Article 252, Section 19 of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan.

No cities that have been granted this status have later lost this status.

Designated Cities are delegated many of the functions normally performed by prefectural cities, making them almost on a part with the prefectures themselves.

List of designated cities

• Sapporo (since 1972)
• Sendai (1989)
• Saitama (2003)
• Chiba (1992)
• Yokohama (1956)
• Kawasaki (1972)
• Shizuoka (2005)
• Nagoya (1956)
• Kyoto (1956)
• Osaka (1956)
• Kobe (1956)
• Hiroshima (1980)
• Kitakyushu (1963)
• Fukuoka (1972)

Sakai, Niigata, and Hamamatsu are all slated to become designated within the next three years.

External link

• Text of the Local Government Law (in Japanese)