| 11. Transportation |
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In fiscal year 2001
Japan's volume of transportation consisted of 1.425 trillion
passenger-kilometers of passenger traffic (same as previous
year) and 581 billion ton-kilometers of freight traffic (up
0.5%). The greatest proportion of passenger traffic in 2001
was transported by passenger cars and buses (67.0% of domestic
passenger-kilometers), followed by railways (27.0%), airplanes
(5.7%), and ships (0.3%). One distinctive feature of Japan compared
to other nations is its high degree of dependence on nationwide
railroads. The proportion of domestic freight traffic carried
by trucks in fiscal 2001 was 54.0%, followed by ships (42.0%),
railways (3.8%), and airplanes (0.2%).(*1)
Motor Vehicle Transportation
In fiscal year 1960 Japanese individuals and companies owned
3.4 million motor vehicles. By 1975 this figure had risen to
29 million, and by 2003 it had increased to 76.9 million, a
level second only to that of the United States. The number of
passenger cars in 2003 was 54.5 million, an average of 1.10
automobiles per household.(*2)
Road construction has kept pace with the increase in the number
of motor vehicles, with the first expressway opening to traffic
in 1963. As of March 2002 there were 8,017 kilometers of arterial
high-standard highways.(*3)
In 2003, the number of people who died in traffic accidents
declined by 7.5 percent from the previous year to 7,702, falling
below the 8,000 mark for the first time in 46 years, according
to the National Police Agency.(*4)
Harmful effects of an automobile-dependent society extend to
the environment as well. In addition to local pollution, the
emission of carbon dioxide in exhaust fumes is said to contribute
to global warming. In December 1993, a law was passed to curb
nitrogen oxide emissions, which can also be hazardous. The "Law
Concerning Special Measures for Total Emission Reduction of
Nitrogen Oxides from Automobiles in Specific Areas" places
restrictions on certain vehicles in Tokyo, Osaka, and other
major urban areas affected by serious atmospheric pollution.
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Rail Transportation
In April 1987, the government privatized the former Japan National
Railways into six regional passenger companies and one freight
company, known collectively as the Japan Railways Group. East
Japan Railway Co. (*1) was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
(TSE) in October 1993, and West Japan Railway Co. (*2) in October
1997. TSE listing and the sell-off of the government-owned JR
stocks are necessary to finalize privatization of the companies
in the group and to enable them to repay their enormous, longstanding
debt.
Shinkansen Services
The JR Group operates the Shinkansen "bullet" trains,
which are second only to France's TGV (Train à Grande
Vitesse) in terms of speed. Differing according to line, the
maximum speed of the Shinkansen ranges from 270 to 300 kilometers
per hour. The original line, opened in 1964, provided super-express
service in 4 hours between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515
kilometers. This line was extended to Fukuoka (Hakata Station)
in Kyushu in 1975. Newer trains covered the distance of 1,096
kilometers from Tokyo to Fukuoka in 5 hours and 49 minutes.
In April 1992 a special new Shinkansen train went into service
on the Tokyo - Osaka run, reducing the time taken to cover the
distance to 2 hours and 30 minutes. Several other Shinkansen
lines have been completed since then, and new Shinkansen lines
are now under construction.
In addition to the shorter local lines operated by the JR Group,
as of July 2003 there are 74 private railways providing local
services, according to the Association of Japanese Private Railways.(*3)
Subways are also an important means of transportation in nine
urban areas, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Tokyo's subway
system has 286 kilometers of track, a network less extensive
than those of London (408 km) or New York (371 km), but exceeding
those of Paris, Moscow, Chicago, and Berlin respectively.
"Mag-Lev" train
Innovations in railway transportation technology are progressing
steadily. Attracting worldwide attention is JR's "linear
motor car" (a magnetic-levitation, or "mag-lev,"
train). An unmanned mag-lev train recorded a speed of 517 kilometers
per hour on a test track in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1979, and
a manned mag-lev managed to clock 400.8 kilometers per hour
in 1987. In view of these successes, another test line, with
a length of 42.8 kilometers, was completed in Yamanashi Prefecture
in April 1997, and full-scale trials began with the goal of
commercialization. In December 2003 a manned mag-lev recorded
a speed of 581 kilometers per hour, the world's fastest speed
ever for a manned train.
JR envisages commercialization in the early decades of the twenty-first
century. If successful, the mag-lev will reach a speed of 500
kilometers per hour, allowing passengers to travel between Tokyo
and Osaka in just one hour.
Maritime Transportation
In 2002 there were 130 Japanese-owned ocean-going vessels, down
0.5% from the previous year. Japan's cargo capacity in mid-2001
was 11.99 million tons on Japanese ships and 95.68 million tons
on foreign-chartered ships. The former figure is about half
the 1994 figure of 26.38 million tons. Japanese shipping companies
have held down their capital spending since the mid-1980s due
to declining earnings resulting from the rising yen and intense
price competition from Asian rivals.
But the business environment has been improving strongly in
recent years thanks to rising shipping fares and brisk demand
for routes from China and other parts of Asia to destinations
such as Europe and the US.
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Air Transportation
The number of passengers entering and exiting Japan on international
carriers stood at 46.9 million in fiscal year 2001, 1.5 times
the level of 10 years before.(*1) As of October 2003 there were
68 Japanese and foreign carriers, representing 41 countries
and territories, operating a total of 3,219 flights a week in
and out of Japan.(*2) The volume of airfreight to and from Japan
in fiscal 2001 was 1.0 million tons.(*3)
The three main passenger carriers in Japan are Japan Airlines
Co. (JAL), All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA), and Japan Air System
Co. (JAS). In October 2002, JAL and JAS merged their operations
under a holding company Japan Airlines System Corporation. The
group placed third in global sales ranking in fiscal year 2002,
and its share of domestic passenger traffic exceeded that of
ANA in the first fiscal-half ending September 2003. Although
all three were originally established as private companies,
JAL was made into a semi-governmental corporation in 1953 to
cope with competition from foreign international carriers.
Under the protection and supervision of the government, JAL,
the only firm of the three that operated a scheduled international
service until 1987, grew into one of the largest airlines in
the world. By the 1980s, however, JAL's management had become
noticeably inefficient. To improve passenger service, the government
privatized JAL in November 1987, introducing into the domestic
airline industry the principle of free competition. Soon thereafter
the other two Japanese carriers were allowed to begin international
service.
As for domestic air transport, the takeoff-landing scale at
Haneda Airport, the only large-scale civilian airport in Tokyo,
was expanded in 1997, in response to which two new companies
(Skymark Airlines and Hokkaido International Airlines, the latter
commonly referred to as Air Do) entered the market in 1998.
These were the first new entries into Japan's regular air transportation
business in 35 years.
To further expand the capacity of Haneda, the government will
start building the fourth runway in fiscal year 2004, with the
goal of bringing the runway into service in fiscal year 2009.
When work is completed, Haneda will be able to handle 40% more
flights. Convenience will be greatly increased for both residents
and businesses in the Tokyo area, and access to the capital
city will become less complicated for people in other parts
of the country. In addition, the completion of the expansion
work is expected to accelerate Haneda's development as an international
transportation hub.
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