In
1872, passenger service began with a steam locomotive that
linked Shimbashi station, in Tokyo, to the nearby city of
Yokohama. This set the stage for a nationwide rail
network. After 17 years, a railway system was
established that linked the main cities along the old
Tokaido (Eastern Sea Route) so that a person could travel
from Tokyo to Osaka by train. Now, along with the
development of automobile and air transportation, important
railway services have gradually shifted to long-distance
intercity transport, such as the Shinkansen and commuter
lines. Commuter lines carry people from their homes in
the suburbs back and forth to work.
Of
the total 1,142,000 km of roads in Japan, 73% is paved.
Construction of expressways (toll roads) began in the 1960's
and has faced many challenges: the nature of the terrain,
high concentration of factories and housing, high land
prices along the routes, and added reinforcement needed to
withstand earthquakes. Construction costs are the
world's highest and therefore, the tolls are also high.
Back
to Top
After
WWII and until 1951, the Japanese government was deprived of
its authority to permit passenger airlines by SCAP (Supreme
Commander of the Allied Powers). Because of this,
international and domestic airlines didn't start until 1953.
The
beginnings of a national railway system started in 1872 with
the connection by steam locomotive of Tokyo to Yokohama.
Seventeen years after this accomplishment there was a link
from Tokyo to Osaka by train, a trip that took 20 hours to
complete. With the introduction of diesel and electric
trains, time was shortened considerable to a mere 6 1/2
hours. Later on the bullet train "Shinkansen"
reduced it even more by completing it in under 3 hours.
Not
stopping with the mainland, a connection was made by rail
linking Honshu to the northern island of Hokkaido.
This was accomplished by building the world's longest
undersea tunnel undersea tunnel, the Seikan Tunnel.
Honshu was also linked to Shikoku Island that same year with
the Seto Ohashi Bridge which was built over the Inland Sea.
Transportation
by rail has decreased with the invention of cars and
airplanes, thus a change to long-distance intercity
transportation and commuter lines. Commuter lines are
rails that take people to and from work in the suburbs.
Since the cost of living is tremendous in the city, people
are moving to the suburbs in order to find acceptable
housing that is a reasonable cost. The price they pay
is more time spent waiting while commuting to work and back.
In
Japan, there are nine cities that have subway systems with
the first one starting in 1927. Many subways also link
with commuter lines to reach out to the suburbs as well.
Japan is also looking into linking the publi and private
transportation systems. Further rail developments
include a light rail transit (LRT) which was initiated in
Kumamoto in 1997, this is the first one operated in Japan.
Back
to Top
MOTOR
VEHICLES AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION
In
1899, the first automobile was brought into Japan and by
1902 they were producing their own. Although the
Japanese manufactured cars, the majority were used
commercially or for public transportation. Private
ownership didn't really get popular until the 1960's.
Three reasons made this possible: rapid financial growth
brought on by economic development; smaller, more fuel
efficient cars targeting private owners; road improvements.
In 36 years, from 1960 to 1996, car ownership increased from
1.5 million to over 72 million. Now it is common for
families to have two cars and truck use has increased in the
delivery and commercial area.
Toll
road construction began in the 60's and the first one
completed in 1965 linked Nagoya to Kobe. This road was
named the Meishin Expressway which was rapidly followed by
the Tomei Expressway which added Tokyo to the connection.
These roads, and the many other expressways linking suburbs
to the downtown areas, are managed by the Japan Highway
Public Corporation. The JHPC doesn't have an easy job
because there are many factors to take into account when
constructing roads in Japan. The terrain is not
conducive to easy road construction, high factory and
housing concentration -which causes heavy traffic in those
areas, expensive land, and certainly not to be forgotten,
earthquakes -which require added reinforcement in the roads.
Because of these factors, Japan's construction costs are the
highest in the world and therefore, the toll roads reflect
that in their usage fees.
Not
surprisingly, Japan's metropolitan areas are areas of
congestion with the high traffic volume and traffic safety
has been a problem since the explosion of private ownership
in the 60's. Along with this congestion comes air
pollution from the automobiles' exhaust. Japanese
manufacturers are working on developing hybrid cars which
are expected to reduce pollution.
Back
to Top
AIR
TRANSPORTATION
International
and domestic airlines didn't get started in Japan until
1953. This was due to the fact that after World War
II, the Japanese weren't allowed to have passenger airlines
by order of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP).
Haneda,
Tokyo International Airport, was Japan's first commercial
airport and it first opened in 1931. Until the opening
of the New Tokyo International Airport in 1978, it was both
a domestic and international airport. With the opening
of the New Tokyo International Airport, Narita Airport,
it is about 65 km outside Tokyo. 38 countries, as of
1997, with a total of 50 airlines used the airport. It
is Japan's largest airport and handles over 25 million
passengers per year and a little over 1.5 million metric
tons of air freight. These incredible numbers put it
at sixth in the world for passengers and first in the world
for freight.
Kansai
International Airport, which opened in 1994 handles most of
the domestic flights and all of the international flights to
the Kansai regions. This airport, which replaced the Osaka
International Airport, Itami Airport, is actually on an
artificial island and operates 24 hours a day.
