AN IDEA OF VARIOUS SECTORS OF JAPAN

1. INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR STUDY OF:
PRESENTED BY:
G.UDAY SHANKER
MBA-INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
UPES- DEHRADUN

2. Japan is an island nation located along the east coast of the Asian continent.
The Japanese archipelago is composed of four large islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu—see
below),
The islands of Okinawa, and thousands of other smaller islands, with a total land area of okinawa sub
tropical climate around 3,64,000 square kilometers—a size comparable to California or Germany.
Geography of Japan

3. * population around 127 million, making it the 10th most populous nation in the world.
* Three-fourths of the population lives in urban areas, resulting in a high urban population density.
* Despite crowding, over half of Japan is unpopulated, with over half of the nation’s land consisting of steep,
forest-covered mountains and volcanic zones.
* Japan’s location above several fault systems results in frequent seismic occurrences each year.
* The nation is traditionally divided into 8 regions (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki/Kansai, Chugoku,
Shikoku, and Kyushu), which are further divided into 47 prefectures for governmental administration.
* Tokyo, the capital city, is located in the Kanto region on the main island of Honshu.
http://expatsguide.jp/basic-information/

5. The Four Seasons :
i. Spring (March to May)
ii. Summer (June to August)
iii. Autumn (September to November)
iv. Winter (December to February)
The Japanese Language
Japanese (Nihongo 日本語), spoken by around 128 million native speakers, is the national language of Japan
The literacy rate in Japan is said to be close to 100% of the population, and the country boasts a rich print culture,
with one of the world’s highest rates of newspaper circulation.
The Japanese writing system makes use of three alphabets: kanji (漢字),logographic characters adopted from China,
and the native phonetic alphabets,
hiragana （ひらがな）and
katakana (カタカナ)

6. Japanese Customs & Practices Gift-Giving
Celebration and Condolence Gifts
shūgibukuro okōden Omiyage
Sweets given on visit and from tours
Year End and Midsummer Gifts
Valentine’s Day
Food
osechi

7. Money in Japan
The Yen (¥ / 円 / JPY) is the official currency in Japan.
The Bank of Japan issues four types of Japanese paper banknotes, and 6 different coins.
The banknotes, with value denominations of ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000, and ¥10,000.
The coins have value denominations of ¥500, ¥100, ¥50, ¥10, ¥5, and ¥1. Both ¥5 and ¥50 coins have a
round hole in the middle.
Reloadable electronic cash cards are also widely used to pay transportation fees, vending machines, and
an increasing number of shops. (see IC cards, Transportation)

8. National Flag is called the hinomaru. the literal translation of hinomaru is "sun disc".
The sun flag has been used as a national symbol since at least the 17th century, with
origins hailing back to Japan's earliest history.
The hinomaru was designated as Japan's official national flag in august, 1999
The capital of Japan is tokyo, located on the kanto plain on the pacific coast of central honshu. Tokyo means "Eastern
capital" in Japanese
Japan's most populous city is tokyo, with approximately 12 million people. This is followed by yokohama, osaka and
nagoya, all south of tokyo but also on the island of honshu.
Japan is completely surrounded by water and has many volcanoes, it is prone to natural disasters. In summer and
autumn, there are enormous typhoons, powerful tropical storms that cause floods, and mudslides.
Japan has two main religions, shinto and buddhism. The shinto religion is native to Japan, and began in ancient history
as the belief in spiritual forces (kami) found in nature. Buddhism came to Japan from india around the middle of the
6th century.

9. Influence from china:
• Buddhism and Chinese culture were introduced to the Japan around 500 AD.
• Adopted Chinese written language.
• Borrowed many Ideas on government and ideas of Confucius.
• Art, literature, dress, farming etc were borrowed from China.
Feudalism:
• New system of government emerged as a result of political turmoil in Japan.
• Under this system local lord rule the land, but owned loyalty to higher lord and emperor.
• Emperor-hereditary position with no real power.
• Shogun: Powerful military commander.
• Damiyo: Powerful land owning nobility.
• Samurai: Warrior.• Resulted in frequent war.
Religion
•Shinto- believes all living and non living things contain spirits, or kami. Linked people to the forces of nature.
• Buddhism: Arrived in Japan as a result of cultural diffusion. Divided into different sect, including Zen Buddhism.
• Confucianism: Strong emphasis placed on filial piety ( loyalty to parents ) and loyalty to ruler.
• Many Japanese practice both Shinto and Buddhism.

10. World War II
• In 1937, Japan launched major drive into China and other Southeast Asian Nation.
• China was a source of raw material and market for Japanese Goods.
• While Japan was invading China, Germany and Italy were taking aggressive action in Europe Sparking World War II
• In 1940 Japan Joined alliance known as axis power with Germany and Italy.
• On December 7,1941 Japanese planes bombarded Pearl Harbor destroying battleship and killing 2500 American.
• On August 6, 1945 an American Bomber Enola Gay, dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima killing 80000 people.
• Still, Japan Refused to Surrender.
• On August 9,1945 another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 40000 people.
• Finally on August 14 Japan Surrendered.

13. Japan Today:
• Traditional Family relationship are still very much present in Japan.
• Western style and culture have very strong influence on Japan.
• Relies heavily on Import.
• Representative democracy.
• Very Strong educational system has encouraged growth and development in economy.
System Of Government:
• Japan has Prime Minister as well as Emperor, who hails from as imperial family.
• Currently, the name of emperor in Akihito.
• It is a democratic as well as constitutional monarchy.
• Voting right is given only to the citizen of Japan whose age is above 20 years.

15. Local Governments:
• The affairs of local governments are conducted on two levels in Japan:
 By the prefectures
 By the municipalities
• In order to strengthen the administrative and fiscal foundation of the municipalities, municipal mergers were
promoted by law.
• Consequently, the number of municipalities was reduced by nearly half from the 3,232 existing at the end of
March 1999.
• Municipalities that satisfy certain population criteria (i.e., 500,000 people or more) are eligible for designation
as "Ordinance-designated cities."
• This designation gives them administrative and fiscal authority equivalent to those of prefectures.

20. Japan Tops Asia in Residential Asset Class
• In “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2016,” PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) rank Japan number
one in Asia in 2016 for its prospects for residential property investment returns, the same as for 2015.
• According to one Tokyo-based investor interviewed for the report, “You have very good supply/demand balance
right now in residential.
• There’s no new construction, you still have people moving, occupancy rates are coming up, so now is the time to
start moving rents.
• And we’re starting to see that, we’re getting rent growth in our buildings.”
Stable residential markets, little new construction
• In the same report, PwC and the ULI predict that the residential real estate market will be somewhat more stable
than the office market, with “little new construction meaning a positive supply/demand balance.”
• Residential cap rates are seen to be around 4 percent.
• The report estimates moderate rental growth of 2 to 3 percent with higher increases constrained by lack of wage
growth.

21. More buyers than available assets:
• The PwC and ULI report also notes that as with other markets around Asia (except for China), the Japanese market as
a whole (not just residential) has more buyers than available assets.
• Mainly Asian but also a number of Middle Eastern and European sovereign funds have entered the market, focusing
on core investment.
• At the same time, local real estate investment trusts (REITs) have eased back on their buying.
Regional cities continuing to draw investors:
• According to PwC and the ULI, while Tokyo remains the focus for most investors in Japan, regional cities, such as
Osaka Nagoya, and Fukuoka, continue to draw investors.
• The yield spread between secondary cities and Tokyo narrowed in 2015 but still provides significant upside, together
with easier access to deals compared with the highly competitive environment in Tokyo.
GPIF allocation to alternatives:
• For the property market as a whole, not just residential, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and
many local pension funds’ move to increase allocations into alternatives, including real estate, is seen to inject some
US$12 billion to US$18 billion for new capital into global private equity funds.

22. National and Local Government Finance:
National Government Finance:
• Japan's fiscal year starts in April, and ends in March of the following year.
• In setting the national budget, the government submits a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year to the
Ordinary Session of the Diet, which begins in January.
• The proposal is then discussed, and an initial budget is approved usually before the fiscal year begins in April.
• Japan's national budget consists of the general account, special accounts, and the budget for government-affiliated
agencies.
• Using revenues from general sources such as taxes, the general account covers core national expenditures such as
social security, public works, culture/education/ science, and national defence.
• Special accounts are accounts established for the national government to carry out projects with specific objectives,
and are managed and administered independently of the general account.
• The number and particulars of special accounts change from year to year; for fiscal 2015, a total of 14 special
accounts have been established, including the national debt consolidation fund, the grants of allocation tax and
transferred tax and the Great East Japan Earthquake recovery fund.

23. Local Government Finance:
There are two budget categories in local government finance:
 The ordinary accounts
 The public business accounts
• The former covers all kinds of expenses related to ordinary activities of the prefectural and municipal governments.
• The latter covers the budgets of independently accounted enterprises such as public enterprises (water supply and
sewerage utilities, hospitals, etc.), the national health insurance accounts and the latter-stage elderly medical care
accounts.
• In particular, a high proportion of the following expenditures are disbursed through local governments: public
hygiene and sanitation expenses, school education expenses; expenses covering judicial, police and fire services; and
public welfare expenses,
• The revenue composition of local governments usually remains almost the same each fiscal year, while their budget
scale and structure vary from year to year. The largest portion of fiscal 2012 (net) revenues came from local taxes,
accounting for 34.5 percent of the total.
• The second-largest source, 18.3 percent, was local allocation tax grants.

25. • Japan is the world's largest liquefied natural gas importer, second-largest coal importer, and third-largest net
importer of crude oil and oil products.
• Japan imports virtually all its fossil fuels, whereas very little fuel is needed for nuclear energy generation.
• Japan spent about $270 billion, or around 58% more, for fossil fuel imports in the three years following the
Fukushima accident.
• Japan's current government intends to resume using nuclear energy as a baseload power source with necessary
safety measures.
• The government believes that the use of nuclear energy is necessary to help reduce current energy supply strains
and high energy prices faced by Japan's industries and end users.
• Japan is the third-largest petroleum consumer in the world. The country relies almost solely on imports to meet
its oil consumption needs because Japan's oil resources are very limited.
• Japan, the third-largest global net oil importer, is highly dependent on the Middle East for most of its supply. The
country is seeking to diversify its supply sources in Russia, Southeast Asia, and West Africa.
• Japan have accounted for about 37% of global LNG purchases since 2012, as the Fukushima disaster spurred greater
demand for LNG in the power sector.
• Nearly a third of the country's LNG imports are from Southeast Asia, but Japan has a diverse portfolio of supply sources.

27. Electricity:
• Japan was the world's third-largest producer of nuclear power, after the United States and France, before the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March 2011.
• After the Fukushima disaster, the composition of fuel used for power generation shifted to fossil fuels, particularly
LNG, which became the primary substitutes for nuclear power.
• Japan had 293 gigawatts (GW) of total installed electricity generating capacity in 2012.
• Nuclear capacity was 44 GW in 2012, constituting 15% of the capacity, although installed capacity fell to 42 GW by
2014 after the last two of the six Fukushima-Daiichi reactors were decommissioned.
• Hydroelectric facilities held 17% of the capacity and have been a steady source of power supply for Japan for
several years.
•
• The remaining capacity came from wind, solar, geothermal, and small biomass-fired plants.
• Japan's electricity industry is dominated by 10 privately-owned, integrated power companies that act as regional
monopolies, accounting for about 80% of the country's total installed generating capacity.
• The largest power company is TEPCO, which accounted for 22% of total power generation in the country in 2012.

28. • These companies also control the country's regional transmission and distribution infrastructure
• Japan's electricity policies are managed by the Agency for Natural Resources and Environment, part of METI
(MINISTRY OF ECONOMY TRADE AND INDUSTRY).
• Japan has two power grids with virtually no interconnections and two different power line frequencies.
• Other significant operators in the electricity market are the Japan Atomic Power Company, the first Japanese
company to build a nuclear reactor in 1960, and the Electric Power Development Company (J-Power), formerly a
state-owned enterprise that was privatized in 2004.
• The Japanese government has been investing in small hydropower projects to serve local communities,
although the potential for growth of hydroelectricity in Japan is limited.
• Wind, solar, and tidal power are being actively pursued in the country and installed capacity from these sources
increased in recent years as a result of the feed-in tariffs incentives.
• The potential for geothermal power is significant, and many of the strict regulations have kept geothermal
power from growing in Japan.
• Japan aims to increase geothermal capacity by another 50 MW by 2020 which is presently 537 mw.

31. • There are 1020 ports in Japan, 22 of which are main ports of special purpose, 106 main ports and 892 local
ports.
• Most frequently port-managing organizations are city municipalities (395 ports) or prefecture administrations
(619 ports).
• The development of most significant for economics Japanese ports is financed 2/3 by government means; the
remaining part is financed by port-managing organizations.
• Ministry of land infrastructure and transport in Japan can provide with stock capital for the securities that are
issued by port-managing organizations if the project that is being carried into effect is important on the state
scale.
• Port managing organizations prepare port development plans.
• China and Japan finalized the shipping agreement in 1974, two years after the diplomatic relationship
between the two countries was normalized in 1972.
• Container shipping services on the China-Japan route started in 1976, carrying 7,000 TEU in the first year of
services.
• Major ports of calling on China-Japan route include Shanghai, Tianjin Qingdao and Dalian in China and
Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Moji and Hakata in Japan.

32. • Maritime industry in Japan has had a significant influence on the country’s history and economic development.
• Japanese maritime cluster is internationally significant even though it is losing its market share to China and South-
Korea.
• Being an island nation with few natural resources, Japan is very dependent on seaborne trade and has established
secure sources of raw materials.
• Habara states in his report Maritime policy in Japan (2011) that 96% of the supplies entering and leaving the country
are carried by maritime transport.
• According to the same report, the value of the Japanese international shipping industry was around five trillion yen
in 2011.
• The country’s access to reliable and cost-effective shipping has helped it in becoming a major industrial power
(BIMCO 2010).
• Japan was a world leader in shipbuilding industry for almost fifty years and the industry has had a positive influence
on maritime transport and the development of the world economy (Habara 2011).
• However, in the last few years, China and South-Korea have passed Japanese shipbuilding in terms of
orderbook and output (International Maritime Information Website 2010).

33. • As per report of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:
• There are over 1000 shipyards in Japan, of which some are individual enterprises while others operate multiple
shipyards.
• The three biggest Japanese shipbuilding companies in the terms of current orderbook: Imabari Shipbuilding,
Tsuneishi Holdings and the Oshima Shipbuilding Company.
• These three companies with Universal Shipbuilding, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Namura Zosensho belong to
the top 30 worldwide shipyard groups.
• Japanese shipbuilders’ share of the country’s GDP has varied over time and has been relatively small in the recent
years.
• Employment in the shipbuilding sector is also a fairly small part of the country’s total employment.
• According to data from the Japanese Government, only 0,13% or 84 000 people are working in the shipbuilding
industry.
• Considering these numbers it may seem that the role of shipbuilding industry in Japan is small but it is actually
much larger because of the joint activities with other industries related to shipbuilding, e.g. steel and marine
equipment.
• Shipbuilding industry is an important part of the maritime cluster which influences Japanese economy.

34. • Japanese maritime business structure has a close relationship with other industries in Japan.
• The maritime cluster in the country is composed of three major groups – shipping companies together with ship
owners, shipbuilding companies and shippers/manufacturers.
• The close cooperation of these groups and the financial support provided by the Zaibatsu, meaning Japanese
financial combines, has led to successful results for the Japanese maritime cluster.
• Japan is trying to increase its maritime industry’s international cooperation. For instance, Japan and Norway
organised a seminar in June 2013 to help companies in finding global business partners and share latest innovations
on products and services
• There are some advantages of Japanese shipbuilding compared to that of other major shipbuilding nations.
• It has been able to maintain a domestic production rate close to 100% and it has had a great volume of experienced
and skilled workforce for the manufacturing processes that cannot be fully automated.
• However, there will be a major generational change of skilled workers during the next ten years.
• Japan is looking to the future by investing in research and development projects for green technology in maritime
industry, and the country’s shipbuilding industry has already made its mark in the energy saving technologies.

35. • Ports and port services is another part of the Japanese maritime cluster where the competitiveness has declined.
Especially other Asian countries, which have made a lot of investments in ports, have passed the Japanese ports
in competition.
• The strengthening yen and the fact that Japan is a high cost economy are making it harder for this maritime
nation to compete in global markets.
• Even with the fierce competition, there are opportunities for the Japanese maritime cluster to enhance its
competitiveness in its strong areas or break into a new territory in the global markets.
• Japanese maritime industry also faces some outward challenges and threats. Piracy is a continuing threat to the
global shipping, especially at the coast of Somalia, where a total of 237 attacks took place in 2011 .
• Japan has taken numerous actions in order to protect the maritime security including deploying naval patrol
vessels and aircrafts to address the issue.

36. ESHIMA OHASHI BRIDGE- 3rd LARGEST IN WORLD
THE ROAD SECTOR

37. Road Infrastructure in Japan:
• There are over 1.2 million kilometers of roads in Japan, about 8,000 of which are expressways.
• As Japan is technologically very advanced, most national roads and expressways have electronic speed limit and
notice signs.
• They keep you up to date on traffic congestion and accidents, two of the daily side effects of driving in Japan.
https://www.internations.org/japan-expats/guide/driving-in-japan-15627
Expressways:
• Japan has an excellent network of national expressways which crisscross the islands. Since the expressways were
largely built on debt, they are now toll roads.
• This helps to regain construction costs little by little through contributions from motorists.
• Most expressways measure toll by the distance a vehicle has travelled.
• A toll booth upon entering the expressway gives you a ticket which you pay upon exiting.
• Japan also introduced an Electronic Toll Collection card system to avoid long lines at toll stations.
• The toll due is also dependant on the type of vehicle, for example, a truck or a passenger car.

38. • Apart from the national expressways, Japan has urban expressways, which are intra-city expressways that can be
found in most large urban areas.
• Because of the lack of space in Japanese cities, these expressways are often constructed as viaducts above other
roads.
• The largest urban expressway networks can be found in the Tokyo and Osaka areas.
• All expressway systems, whether national or urban, have been privatized due to the debt amassed while they were
built.
• They are governed by different companies.
• All urban expressways operate on a flat rate toll system; unlike on national expressways, distance is irrelevant.
Highways:
• In addition to the expressway system, Japan has a nationwide system of national highways.
• These are up to the same standards as the modern expressways; yet do not require the payment of tolls.
• They are administered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and TransporT and other government agencies and
are numbered by prefecture.

39. • Road construction and improvement projects are being implemented so that people can truly experience the
improvements, such as safe and comfortable pedestrian spaces; high-quality living environments with roadside
greening; running utility cables underground, etc.
• Promoting universal design in pedestrian spaces
• Eliminating utility poles
• Creation of zones where pedestrians and bicycles have priority
• Development of sidewalks, bicycle roads, wide sidewalks, and shared pedestrian-vehicle roads and underground
installation of electric cables.
• While bicycles play an important role in the urban transportation system as a convenient transportation method,
infrastructure for cyclists is not yet sufficient and is resulting in an increase of bicycle accidents relative to the total
number of traffic accidents.

40. TUNNELS:
• The islands of Japan stretch out long and thin from north to south with a backbone of steep mountains rising to
elevations of 2,000 to 3,000 m.
• As about 70% of the land is mountainous, roads must be constructed on the narrow strips of land between steep
slopes and the sea, along rivers winding between mountains, and through tunnels.
• Tunnels are increasingly used when constructing roads in highly populated areas of cities due to the shortage of
land and to protect the environment.
BRIDGES:
• Bridges Japan consists of four major islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku and a number of small
islands.
• Straits and inland seas hinder the traffic between islands.
• For well-balanced development of the nation, new transportation axes are needed, and bridges connecting islands
have been constructed.
• Japan is also highly prone to earthquakes, typhoons and strong winds, so cutting-edge technologies are used for
constructing and maintaining longspan bridges that can withstand such severe natural conditions.

41. Pavement:
• In 1955, the paved road ratio of national highways in Japan was less than 14%.
• The ratio increased sharply thereafter as motorization progressed rapidly, reaching 57% in 1965, 79% in 1975, and
over 90% today.
• Various paving technologies have been researched and developed since roads in Japan are subjected to large
seasonal temperature differences and heavy rainfall.
• Technologies are also being developed to address an aging society and environmental issues.
Road Types:
1.NATIONAL EXPRESSWAYS: Form the strategic traffic network for automobiles across the country and connects the
areas of political/economical/cultural importance or with a critical influence on national interest.
2.NATIONAL HIGHWAYS: Together with National Expressways, National Highways form the strategic road network and
meet legal
3.PREFECTUAL ROADS form the regional arterial road network and meet legal requirements
4.MUNCIPAL ROADS serve within a municipal jurisdiction.

42. National Funding of Road Infrastructure: Japan
• Japan traditionally constructed highways through highway public corporations, but these corporations incurred
huge amounts of debt over the years.
• In 2005, four highway public corporations were dissolved and the Japan Expressways Holding and Debt Repayment
Agency (JEHDRA) and six new highway companies were established.
• JEHDRA took over the highway assets and debts of four former highway public corporations and leased highways
to the highway companies.
• Previously, the major source of government funding for highway construction was earmarked tax revenues, such as
the gasoline tax and car-related taxes.
• The toll from highway users was used to pay off loans. However, the earmarked tax revenue system for road
construction was abolished in 2008.
• The government supports JEHDRA, and JEHDRA in turn provides financing to highway companies through grants
and debt guarantees.
• The government constructs and manages those highways that are not profitable by themselves.

43. Nozomi (500 series EMU) CTC (Centralized Traffic Control) center
THE RAILWAYS SECTOR

44. • Railways in Japan play a central role in the intracity transport of commuters, the high-speed intercity transport of
travelers and the conveyance of many kinds of cargo.
• As such, railways are the most important mode of transportation in Japan today, playing a pivotal role in the
nation's industrial and social development.
• Development of railways has also contributed to environmental betterment, by reducing dependence on private
vehicles and thereby the adverse impact they have on the environment.
• The total length of lines operated in Japan is more than 27,200 km, with 20,100 km operated by JR, 6,500 km by
other private railways, and 600 km by subways.
• To meet the ever increasing demand placed on its railway system, Japan is constantly developing and applying new
technologies to improve its intracity and intercity passenger and freight railway networks.
• These networks are renowned worldwide for their efficiency and safety.
• Since commencing operation in 1964, Shinkansen trains have transported more than 5 billion passengers and
maintained a perfect safety record.

45. • The Tokaido Shinkansen, JNR's first bullet train service, was opened between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka Stations (515
km) in October 1964.
• Afterwards, the other Shinkansen lines, the Sanyo in 1972 (161 km) and 1975 (393 km), the Tohoku (497 km) and the
Joetsu (270 km) in 1982, and the Hokuriku (117 km) in 1997 followed.
• The Shinkansen network at present totals 1953 km. The Shinkansen has 36 years of experience with no fatal
accidents and transports more than 800,000 passengers everyday (in 1999).
• The greatest merits of the Shinkansen are its (1) Safety, (2) High speed, (3) Mass transport capabilities, (4)
Punctuality, and (5) High frequency.
• As for safety, the Shinkansen has had no fatal accidents throughout its 36 years of history.
• As for high speed, the Shinkansen boasts a top speed of 270 km/h to 300 km/h for daily operation.
• As for mass transport, the Tokaido and the Sanyo Shinkansen now transports more than 500,000 passengers a day.
• One train can transport more than 1,300 passengers. A train is composed of 16 cars and the length is 400 m.
• Such trains can depart at 5-minute intervals, with 12 trains being dispatched in 1 hour per direction.
Shinkansen:

46. • As for punctuality, the delay ratio of Shinkansen trains is less than 0.1 minutes/train (in the Tokaido case) with most
delays due to climatic disasters such as typhoons or abnormal heavy snows.
• As for high frequency, there is no need for a long wait. The Tokaido Shinkansen operates more than 400 trains (200
trains per direction) a day (approx. 18 hours).
• Of course, train frequency is dependent on the demand volume, which is dependent on the fidelity of Shinkansen
passengers.
• These 5 characteristics have been established by the incessant integration of the state-of-the-art railway
technologies that cover many genres of both hardware and software.
• Facilities (from supporting structure and track to electricity and communications), equipment, trains, such hardware
and, inspecting & maintaining, operation, such software of techniques, skills and manuals, are both daily developed
and implemented.
• Every time a new Shinkansen is planned, a comprehensive review of present criteria is carried out and the state-of-
the-art advanced, taking into account technological continuity with existing Shinkansen technology.
• One is labor savings. Japan has experienced rapid economic growth in these past 40 years and labor costs have sky
rocketed. Therefore, reducing labor costs is crucial for the success of a Shinkansen project.

47. • The Japanese Shinkansen passes through densely populated areas at high speeds.
• Initially, the levels of noise and vibration from the Shinkansen in certain areas were criticized, with legal action
sometimes occurring.
• The government as a result established a noise ordinance for the Shin-kansen.
• The permissible maximum noise level is 70 dB (A) for residential areas and 75 dB (A) for industrial areas at a distance
of 25 m from the center of the railway track.
• To satisfy these requirements, successful noise counter-measures have been developed.
• Research is still continuing so that maximum operating speeds of more than 300 km/h are possible while meeting
the demands of the noise ordinance.
• The construction of new Shinkansen lines is currently in progress in the north and south, in order to strengthen the
backbone of Japan's transportation, in accordance with the nationwide Shinkansen network development program.
• In this program, an additional role has been defined for the Shinkansen. It is a role as a rib cage. The Shinkansen's
initial role was as the backbone of Japanese transportation, which it carried out for 30 years.
• The cities and areas connected by the Shinkansen network have enjoyed its quick and convenient service and have
reaped large socioeconomic benefits from it.

48. • The Shinkansen's initial role was as the backbone of Japanese transportation, which it carried out for 30 years.
• The cities and areas connected by the Shinkansen network have enjoyed its quick and convenient service and have
reaped large socioeconomic benefits from it.
• People in adjacent areas (i.e., areas 100 km or more from the nearest Shinkansen station) have been aware of the
merits of the Shinkansen and have wanted the Shinkansen network extended to their areas.
• This has been done by upgrading existing conventional railway lines to enable Shinkansen through service to these
areas.
• Two examples of this are the Yamagata Shinkansen (149 km) and Akita Shinkansen (127 km). Their rights-of-way
consisted solely of conventional rail (gauge 1,067 mm).
• During the upgrading of these lines, railway transportation was stopped and passenger service carried out by bus.
• Rural conventional lines have been changing their track gauge (from 1,067 to 1,435 mm), structures, and signalling
& communication systems to meet Shinkansen requirements.

49. A synchronous, linear motordriven magnetic levitation vehicle (or MAGLEV) using superconducting magnet has been
under development and it achieved a maximum speed of 517 km/h (unmanned operation) at the Miyazaki test track in
1979.
A vehicle with 32 passenger seats made a test run in 1982.
As the track in Miyazaki was only 7 km and a longer test track was needed for the next stage, a test track in Yamanashi
was planned and constructed by the Central Japan Railway Company, Railway Technical Research Institute, Japan
Railway Construction Public Corporation, and the Ministry of Transport.
18 km of the new test track was opened (100 km west from Tokyo) in 1997 and the second stage of experiments
began.
In these experiments, a maximum speed of 552 km/h was achieved in 1999, making operation speeds of 500 km/h
feasible. MAGLEV is the next generation of rail transport.
MAGLEV :
An experimental vehicle at Yamanashi test track

50. Ever since the Japanese National Railways was split up and privatized into 7 companies in 1987, each company has
been competing with one another in technical development, improvement of various services, etc.
To make railways more attractive to users.
Of these improvements the increase in train speeds and reduction in journey times have been the most remarkable
achievements of these companies.
While the high-speed railway network that connects major cities via Shinkansen services has been consolidated, the
speed of the conventional railway system using 1,067 mm gauge track has increased from 120 km/h in 1968 to 140
km/h in 1988, and has the aim of achieving 160 km/h in the near future.
The JR Group's share of the domestic passenger transport market totals 84.1 billion passengers/year, or 10% (8.7 billion
passengers), with automobiles accounting for 73.5% (or 61.8 billion passengers), other private railways for 16% (or 13.3
billion passengers), and bus services for 8% (or 7.1 billion passengers).
In terms of passenger-km, the JR Group accounts for 17% of the market total (in 1998).
INTERCITY TRANSPORT:

51. Freight Services:
In response to diverse demands for freight transport, various types of container and piggy-back services, as well as
standard freight wagon services, are no longer restricted only to main lines, achieving faster physical distribution.
High-speed container transport is widely used to meet the requirements for multimodal transport.
The containers in use are diverse, ranging from large capacity containers to constant/low temperature containers with a
set temperature of anywhere between -25C and 25C.
High speed piggy-back transport and the slide vanbody system (SVS) are concrete examples of the attempt to achieve
a modal shift, which in turn aims at achieving higher efficiency and faster speeds for freight services.
Yarding work has improved to include the processes of arrival, unloading/loading and departure, while a new freight
engine (EF200 model, maximum output: 6,000 kW,
maximum speed: 120 km/h) using the latest high-tech invertor control technology has been developed to replace the
EF66 model (maximum output: 3,900 kW, maximum speed: 110km/h).
Although the JR Group's share of the freight transport is as small as 1% (41 million tons out of a total of 6.4 billion
tons), its share in terms of ton-km is 4% (23 billion ton-km in 1998).

52. The emergence of the megapolis has created serious problems for urban transport.
Both the improvement and expansion of the railway network, which is a basic infrastructural component, are essential
parts of any remedial measure for the problems faced by business and school commuters.
The measures introduced so far include an increased passenger capacity/train and more frequent and faster services.
The JR Group, in order to increase its transportation capacity, is now operating 15-car trains and double-decker car
trains on busy lines at a headway of 2 minutes during rush hours. In the case of medium and long-distance
commuting lines, the introduction of double-decker cars that increase passenger capacity by 70% is in progress.
The share of passenger transport held by railways in the 3 largest urban areas, i.e. Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka is 49% (18%
and 7.1 billion passengers for the JR Group and 31% and 12.3 billion passengers for other private railways) with
automobiles catering for 52% (in 1996).
Peak hour (08:00 -`09:00) transport volumes are as high as 100,000 passengers per direction (e.g., Chuo Line in metro
Tokyo), with peak-hour traffic accounting for approximately 30% of total daily traffic.
Railways in Japan are required to make further improvements in such diverse fields as transport efficiency, the
effective utilization of the land it owns, low-pollution technology, and a flexible response to urban development.
COMMUTER SERVICES:

53. URBAN RAILWAY/GUIDED TRANSPORT :
• The population in urban area trends to increase with the expansion of urban functions.
• Subways, monorails and AGT(Automated Guideway Transit)systems have been widely introduced in many cities in
Japan to provide a safe, swift and pleasant means of mass passenger transport which can achieve the efficient use of
limited land and which is not affected by congested roads.
• The service length of urban railways, excluding subways, in the 13 principal cities of Japan (each with a population of
more than 800 thousand) totals 2,000km and are operated by the JR Group and other major private railways. 54
percent of passenger transport in areas centering around Tokyo is served by railways (including subways).
• Railway companies in Japan, to solve the inconvenience of transferring at junctions, are operating through service
using each other's lines. At present, 7 subways in Tokyo are carrying out this method of operation.
• Today, 9 cities, including Tokyo which is the capital of Japan, enjoy subway services. The total service length is 615
km with 12.9 million passengers/day.
• The current subway network in Tokyo consists of 12 lines which extend 251 km and is used by 7.1 million
passengers/day. Trains with 6-10 cars run every 2 minutes on particularly busy lines during the morning rush hours.
•

54. • Monorail systems, either the suspended or straddle type, are in operation in various cities with a total service
length of 87 km.
• AGT systems, which located in a number of cities, have a total service length of 87km and use a horizontal or
central guidance system.
• Some services employ one-man operation and such safety mechanisms as ATC or ATS are fully provided to
maximize safety and efficiency.
• With a history spanning more than 70 years, Japan's subways, which transport around 13 million passengers daily,
have earned a reputation for reliability and efficiency: Conventional subway (above) and the latest type equipped
with linear motor (below)
• Monorail and AGT system have been taking part in the urban transport to make cities more functional: Straddle
type monorail and AGT system with unattended service in both system and station operations

55. Railway operators and train manufacturers in Japan have been energetically conducting research and development
activities in search of new designs, as well as in manufacturing and maintenance technologies, in order to modernize
rolling stock.
Particular emphasis is being given to improved passenger services, e.g., faster speeds and first-class accommodations,
in response to the diversification of passenger needs.
Moreover, new rolling stock that incorporates the latest technologies are being introduced to provide efficient intercity
and intracity transport to meet the ever increasing population concentrations of urban areas.
These new technologies include developments relating to high speed service, tilting cars, and variable voltage and
variable frequency (VVVF) control.
These strenuous efforts continuously generate new transport demand and have contributed to the improvement of
railway management efficiency in the face of tough competition from other transport systems.
The application of advanced technologies has contributed to an improved railway business through energy savings,
manpower savings and a reduction in maintenance costs, which have also proven to be highly advantageous from the
viewpoint of environmental preservation.
ROLLING STOCK:

56. Energy efficiency, a mass transportation capability, low operation costs, and environment-friendly features are among
the main reasons why Japan, a country with a high population density and limited natural resources, is determined to
drive forward the electrification of its railway system.
The total length of electrified railway lines in Japan now exceeds 17,300 km, of which JR lines account for 68%.
The fact that some 90% of railway transport is conducted by electrified traction indicates the high degree of
effectiveness of such electrification.
The commercial frequency AC, first introduced in 1957, is mainly used for intercity trunk lines, accounting for about
50% of JR's electrification.
Most other private railway operators use DC systems. Shinkansen lines with a current maximum speed of 300 km/h
use the 25 KV commercial frequency AC system.
Modern technologies currently contributing to the high efficiency of Japan's electrified railway system include the
auto-transformer (AT) feeding technology, the computerized remote control technology, and the harmonic/inductive
interference immunization technology.
A regenerative braking system is also employed on some lines to help reduce energy demand.
ELECTRIFICATION:

57. SIGNALLING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS:
• Japan's excellent reputation for safe, efficient and reliable railway services can be largely attributed to the continual
modernization of signaling and telecommunication systems.
• Full relay interlocking devices are used by almost all JR stations and those of other private railways and electronic
interlocking devices have also been in use since 1981.
• Most railway lines are equipped with an automatic blocking system, and a centralized traffic control (CTC) system is
in operation on more than 63% of the total service length.
• The safety of the Shinkansen and main commuting lines is guaranteed by the automatic train control (ATC) system,
while other lines are equipped with an automatic train stop (ATS) system.
• Railway telecommunication networks in Japan consist of microwave and coaxial cable networks.
• The use of fibreoptic cable is increasing in order to enlarge transmission capacity as well as improve transmission
quality.
• Satellite systems are used in emergencies to keep railway communication channels open.
• These networks facilitate both voice and data transmission and can be connected to such devices as digital
telephone exchanges, train radios, and facsimile lines.

58. COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY:
• Railway engineers in Japan have developed many new computer-based technologies to modernize both railway
operations and administrative procedures.
• A computerized railway traffic control system is widely used to modify operation schedules, control train routes, and
monitor traffic flow, significantly contributing to the safety and efficiency of railway services.
• Computers are also used to enhance customer services. Passengers may reserve seats and purchase tickets over the
counter or by telephone through an automatic reservation system.
• Moreover, the computerized system provides a freight car reservation service and the arrival times for express
freight trains and container trains.
• Most railway computer systems are connected to data gathering and transmission systems to make such work as
train operation, track construction/repair, and rolling stock maintenance easier.
• Recent developments in semi-conductor technology and its applications have enabled the introduction of automatic
ticket inspection/collection machines and the use of IC cards to pay fares.
• Via cooperation with banks or similar financial institutions, it is planned to allow riders to use credit cards for paying
their railway fares in the future.

59. TUNNELS AND BRIDGES:
• Japan's reputed status as the world leader in civil engineering technologies is partly explained by the wealth of
technical experience gained through the construction of numerous railway tunnels and bridges, necessitated by
Japan's topography, with the 4 main islands being characterized by mountain ranges and waterways.
• Typical examples of such technological excellence are the 54km-long Seikan Tunnel (the longest undersea tunnel in
the world that links the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido), and the 22km-long Daishimizu Tunnel (built for a
Shinkansen line), and the 25.8 km-long Iwate Tunnel (under construction also for a Shinkansen line).
• Furthermore, the 37.5 km-long (including land sections) Honshu-Shikoku Bridge, which links the islands of Honshu
and Shikoku by a series of suspension and cable-stayed bridges, is the world's largest bridge complex and is used
for both road and railway transport.
• These examples are testimony to the fact that Japanese tunnel and bridge technologies are of the highest standard
in the world, having established a strong railway/road link between Japan's 4 main islands.
• Japan is also a world leader in the construction of shield tunnels and manufactures most of the world's shield
machines.
• These excellent technologies are evident in the current construction of both new Shinkansen lines and subway lines.

60. TRACKS:
The structure and maintenance of track for Shinkansen and conventional railway lines are based on superior
technologies that have been developed through the pursuit of faster speed, better safety, comfort, and economy.
The slab track developed in 1965 by the former JNR, in order to realize labor savings and other economic gains, has
since been used for the Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen tracks.
As of 2000, the aggregate length of Shinkansen slab track, mainly for tunnels and elevated sections, totaled some 2,150
km.
Based on the experience of these Shinkansen lines, the construction cost of a slab track is some 30% higher than that of
a ballast track, but the maintenance cost of the slab track is 30% to 40% lower, proving the former's economic viability.
Slab track is also reputed to be an advantageous technology in view of the likely shortage of railway maintenance
workers in the future.

61. RELATED ENTERPRISES:
Railway companies in Japan are making efforts to increase revenues from enterprises other those involving railway
operation (or so-called "related enterprises"), by utilizing their real estate in and around stations (which is usually
located in desirable areas) and also by making use of their existing human resources and know-how.
The related enterprises are broadly divided into two types: enterprises operated directly by railway companies and
enterprises operated by group companies in which railway companies have an investment.
Typical cases of the former are enterprises that lease land and buildings and commercial services for station yards and
the like.
The main enterprises operated by group companies are hotel management, shopping center management, real estate
handling, retail store management, restaurant management, travel agency services, and information transmission.
These kinds of enterprises are increasing year by year.
Enterprises operated by railway companies in Japan and their group companies are diversified and large in scale, which
has attracted the attention of overseas railway operators and brought many foreign visitors to Japan to study their
actual situation.

62. WATER SECTOR

63. • Percentage of population with access to safe water: 95 percent.
• One survey found that 72 percent of Japanese make some effort to conserve water.
• The survey also found that 37.5 percent of Japanese get their drinking water from the tap; 32 use water purifiers
and 29.6 percent drink bottled water.
• In another survey, 47 percent of Japanese said they don't drink the tap water. Only 28 percent said the tap
water tastes good.
• Japan is very good at conserving water even though it has a lot of water and doesn't really need to except in
cases of localized droughts.
• High water prices create an incentive for ordinary people to conserve water. One way Japanese conserve water
is by using bath water for several baths and then using the leftover water for washing clothes.
• Families in the United States and Japan use 10 times as much water as families in Kenya and dry areas of China.
• One study found that a three-member Japanese family used 280.7 liters a day compared to 223 liters for a
family of 11 in Kenya and 800 liters for a family of four in the United States.

64. • There are lots of dams in Japan. They have been built to generate electricity, control floods and provide irrigation
water for agriculture.
• Japan uses it water supplies very cleverly. Often getting energy, irrigation water, and drinking water from the same
dam.
• Even so many Japanese feel there are too many dams and environmental groups have joined with farmers worried
about having their land submerged to protest the construction of new dams.
• Share of the worlds dams: 1) China (45 percent); 2) the United States (14 percent); 3) India (9 percent); 4) Japan (6
percent); Other countries (26 percent).
• A concrete dam proposed for a major river in Kumamoto was axed by the governor there on the grounds that it
world upset the flow of rivers there that attract large numbers of tourists and fishermen seeking ayu sweetfish.
• In 2008, Japan announced plans to build 182 new hydroelectric projects by 2030, up from the 38 it had originally
projected, to create construction jobs and boost total hydroelectric power generation to 78.1 billion kilowatt hours.
• Tokuyama Dam, Japan's largest dam in term of water capacity, was opened in May 2008. Plans for the dam, which
can hold 650 million tons of water, were announced in 1957 though construction did not begin until 2000. The dam
cost $3.5 billion.
Dams in Japan

65. Water resources and climate change
• While Japan is not a water-stressed country per se, water availability varies substantially between years, seasons and
regions leading to regular and serious water shortages.
• On average over the period 1971-2000, water resources in Japan stood at 420 km3 per year.
• At 3,300m3 per capita this is below the global average.
• On the Pacific coast where most Japanese live, 70-80% of rainfall occurs during only four months, i.e. the summer
monsoon from June to July and the typhoon season from August to September.
• On the coast of the Sea of Japan the winter monsoon brings heavy snowfall from December to February.
• National droughts occur about every 10 years in Japan, in addition to more frequent regional droughts. During the
drought in 1994 the piped water supply of 16 million people had to be restricted.
• It is expected that the severity of droughts will increase because of climate change which will reduce the amount of
water stored in the form of snow, increase evaporation from reservoirs and reduce rainfall.
• Most of the water for domestic use comes from surface water. About 45% of the total comes from reservoirs
regulated by dams, while 27% comes directly from rivers, 1% from lakes and 4% from river beds, totaling 77% from
surface water. 23% of domestic water supply comes from groundwater, which is over-exploited in parts of the
country.

66. Water storage:
• While there are more than 2,500 dams in Japan, their total storage is low because rivers are short and steep.
• Total active storage of all dams is only 20 km3, corresponding to less than the storage capacity of Hoover
dam. In addition, lakes have an important storage function and their water levels are regulated through weirs.
• The largest lake is Lake Biwa that provides drinking water to more than 15 million people in the Keihanshin
(Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe) metropolitan region.
Water use:
• For example, in the coastal part of the Kantō region that includes Tokyo the utilization rate is over 90% in a
dry year. In the relatively dry north of Kyushu it is more than 50%.
• Of the total use 55.2 km3 was for agriculture, 16.2 km3 for domestic use and 12.1 km3 for industrial use.
Despite the introduction of water-saving devices domestic per capita use declined only slightly from 322 liter
per capita per day in 2000 to 314 in 2004.
• Per capita water use thus is slightly lower than in the United States (371 liter in 2005) and more than twice as
high as in Germany (122 liter in 2007) or in England (145 liter in 2009).

67. Water quality:
• Although drinking water quality and the quality of waste water discharged into open watercourses typically
exceed national standards, water quality in rivers and lakes still does not meet environmental standards.
• For example, the attainment rate of environmental standards was 87% in 2005, but in lakes and marshes it was
only 50%.
Water supply:
• New water distribution pipes are typically made from ductile iron and service pipes from stainless steel. The
share of pipes made of these materials increased from 40% for ductile iron and zero for stainless steel in 1980 to
100% for both in 2006.
• The change in pipe materials is credited as a major factor in reducing water losses to one of the world's lowest
levels.
• Water treatment is usually through rapid sand filtration (76%), while 20% of water utilities only disinfect water
without additional treatment.
• Utilities increasingly adopt advanced water treatment methods such as activated carbon, ozone disinfection and
air stripping.

68. Sanitation:
• Concerning sewerage, out of 1,896 systems, 1,873 were separate sewer systems (between sanitary sewers and
stormwater sewers) and only 23 were combined sewer systems.
• In 2002 about 75 million people were connected to sewers and 35 million people had their waste water treated
through small-scale waste water treatment devices called jōkasōs.
• They are common in areas not connected to sewers, but also exist in areas connected to sewers. There is even a
specific jōkasō law that regulates their construction, installation, inspection and desludging.
• Jōkasōs use different technologies and serve different sizes of buildings from single-family homes to high-rise
buildings, public or commercial buildings.
• Treated water can be easily reused for various purposes such as toilet flushing, watering gardens or car washing.
Sludge from jōkasōs can be used as fertilizer.
• The government has a program to subsidize the installation of jōkasōs. It has been attempted to transfer the
technology to China and Indonesia.

69. Policy and regulation:
• Within the government the responsibility for regulating the water and sanitation sector is shared between the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in charge of water supply for domestic use;
• the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in charge of water resources development as well as
sanitation; the Ministry of the Environment in charge of ambient water quality and environmental preservation; and
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in charge of performance benchmarking of utilities.
• In 2004, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare presented a Waterworks Vision "to show a map towards future
goals shared among stakeholders of water supply services".
• The paper lists a number of challenges such as decreasing population, declining investment, ageing facilities and an
ageing workforce.
• It also notes that current anti-earthquake measures are insufficient, some rivers are vulnerable to frequent drought
and that facilities need to be better protected against terrorist attacks.
• The vision recommends a number of measures, including the introduction of "wide area water supply systems", an
integrated approach to water quality management, to further promote earthquake-resistant construction, to
increase energy efficiency and the use of alternative energies, to further reduce water leakage and to review the
subsidy system "without charging higher water rates".

70. Water resources development and bulk water supply:
• The Japan Water Agency (JWA) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism constructs
dams, estuary barrages, facilities for lake and marsh development, and canals.
• It also operates and maintains these facilities, supplying bulk water to other entities, such as utilities, that
distribute it to end users.
• JWA was created by law in 2003 to succeed the Water Resources Development Public Corporation (WARDEC) that
had been created in 1962.
Service provision:
• Typically drinking water and sewage services are provided by different entities. In 2007 there were 1,572 water
utilities and 3,699 sewage utilities in Japan.
• The number of sewage utilities is higher than the number of municipalities, which was only 1,804 down from
3,232 in 1999.
• The higher number of utilities may be because the merger of utilities lagged behind the merger of municipalities.
• Utilities can be either companies operating under commercial principles, subject to the Local Public Enterprise
Law, or departments of local government subject to the government accounting system.