Special cities of Japan

, also known as Special Case cities, is a defined class or category of Japanese cities. It is a local administrative division created by the national government. All special cities have a population greater than 200,000.
History.
The special or special case cities were created because of the Local Autonomy Law of Japan. Each city does many of the things normally done by prefectures. 
List.
Special cities were recognized starting in 2000. There are 40+ of these cities, including