The city was designated by decree

The designation of a city by decree in Japan refers to the metropolitan system based on the local self-government law Central government A way of managing a large city of economic importance.

As of 2012, a total of 20 cities in Japan have been designated by decree, from north to south: Sapporo ( Hokkaido ), Sendai ( Miyagi-ken ), Saitama ( Saitama ), Chiba ( Chiba-ken ), Kawasaki ( Kanagawa Prefecture ), Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), Sagamihara City (Kanagawa Prefecture), Niigata ( Niigata prefecture ), Shizuoka ( Shizuoka ), Hamamatsu (Shizuoka Prefecture), Nagoya City ( Aichi-ken ), Kyoto City ( Kyoto Prefecture ), Osaka ( Osaka ), Sakai (Osaka Prefecture), Kobe ( Hyogo ), Okayama ( Okayama prefecture ), Hiroshima City ( Hiroshima-ken ), Kitakyushu City ( Fukuoka Ken ), Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture), Kumamoto City ( Kumamoto prefecture ). ^[1]

while Tokyo Prefecture The 23 districts are governed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government Directly governed (but not entirely subordinate), each district is basically the same level as the city.

In 1956, the Japanese government amended the Local Autonomy Law (Showa 31 year Law No. 147) to establish a "decree designated city", and began to implement on September 1 of the same year, originally under the "five metropolitan Administrative supervision special case" has autonomy Kyoto City , Osaka , Nagoya City , Kobe , Yokohama Five cities became the first batch of implementation objects. ^[2]

Since 1963, Kitakyushu City , Sapporo , Kawasaki , Fukuoka And other cities have been upgraded to be listed as designated cities by government decree. ^[2]

On April 1, 2012, Kumamoto prefecture Kumamoto City It was upgraded to a designated city by Japanese government decree, followed in Kyushu region Kitakyushu City (1963), Fukuoka It is the third city designated by government decree since 1972 and the 20th in the country.

After Kumamoto became a designated city by decree, it will have the same autonomy as prefectural offices in urban planning and education policies. According to a survey conducted by Kumamoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 55.6 percent of respondents said that upgrading to a designated city by government decree will effectively promote local economic development. In the future, Kumamoto City can effectively exercise its autonomy in formulating industrial revitalization policies, which will help promote regional investment and revitalization of regional industries. Kumamoto Mayor Masashi Koyama said that it will be effectively used Kyushu Shinkansen The opening of the entire Kagoshima Line and the promotion to a designated city by government decree will promote Kumamoto's brand to the world by combining Kumamoto's abundant natural, medical and educational resources. ^[3]