Despite being the size of the state of Montana, Japan packs 125 million people into hundreds of cities. With a large Amateur Radio population the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) came up with the Japan Century Cities Award (JCC). To qualify for the entry level award you need to confirm contacts with Japanese hams in at least 100 different cities.
To make tracking cities worked easier, the JARL has helpfully numbered each qualifying city. Most Japanese QSL cards, if they reside in a city, includes this indicator in the form, “JCC-1234”.
Once you’ve got 100 out of the way, the JCC program still has more to offer. Separate certificates are available in 100 city increments up to the current max of 800 cities.
Various endorsements and stickers are also available. You can get 50 city stickers to fill in the gaps between certificates. For example, covering 150, 250, etc. Other endorsements include single bands, single modes (CW, SSB, Digital, etc.), satellites and QRP.
I tend to like Japan designed awards and that applies here as well. Numerous colorful seals adorn the area of the sponsor’s signature. The certificate also features a map of the country. Of particular interest is the inclusion of the South Kuril Islands to the north of Hokkaido. These are currently held by Russia, which Japan does not recognize.
Until recently, the JARL functionally did not accept Logbook of the World confirmations. Their wording indicated a requirement that signal reports be recorded in the confirmation. That appears to no longer be the case, so physical and electronic confirmations are now valid. Cards do not need to be sent to the JARL or checked by other Hams. As long as the applicant affirms that the confirmations are in hand the application will be accepted.
At the time of this writing, the cost of the award comes out to 2,000 Yen. That’s about $14 at the current exchange rate. Once you send in your application and everything looks good you can use PayPal to send in the payment and await your certificate.
The JARL also offers a similar award for administrative areas outside of cities. The Japan Century Guns (JCG) also requires 100 confirmed contacts, but this time with Guns instead of cities.