city designated to operate its own public health centers
A legal/administrative term for a city that, under the Community Health Act, is required to establish and run public health centers (保健所) instead of relying on the prefecture. Applies to designated cities (政令指定都市) and core cities (中核市) with a population of 200,000 or more.
In a city designated to operate its own public health centers, the city is obligated to independently establish and run public health centers.
Because this area is designated as a city that operates its own public health centers, authority for infectious disease control has been transferred to the city.
保健所 is the public health center itself, while 保健所政令市 is the city that is required to operate such centers.
政令指定都市 is a broader category of designated cities with many devolved powers; 保健所政令市 specifically refers to the obligation to run public health centers, which also applies to some core cities.
Compound of 保健所 (public health center), 政令 (government ordinance), and 市 (city). The term is derived from the legal framework of the Community Health Act (地域保健法).