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4 April | • | Airline service opened for two
weekly flights (Mondays and
Thursdays) between Hakodate
and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with
Antonov AN24s
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|
7 April | • | JR Freight announced cargo
transport volume declined
4.5% (2,521,000 tonnes) from
previous FY to 53,913,000
tonnes in FY1993, recording
declines for 2 consecutive
years. Company attributed to
long recession, earthquakes,
torrential rains and other natural
disasters, and also to poor
rice crop. Performance lowest
since company start in
FY1987, dipping below
56,280,000 tonnes marked in
same year
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|
21 April | • | DC electrification on section
between Hachioji and
Komagawa (31.1 km) covering
southern half of Hakko Line
started to increase transportation
capacity and speed train
services through direct train
operation to central Tokyo. Total
construction cost ¥43 billion.
Construction work scheduled
for completion by end FY1995
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|
22 April | • | "Shima Spanish Village", integrated
resort facility constructed
by Kintetsu group in
Isobe-machi, Mie Prefecture,
opened. Consists of four areas:
"Parque Espana", theme park
with Spanish-style streets and
cultural facilities, hotel (252
rooms) and gardens, villas and
green zones. About 3 million
people expected to visit resort
village annually
Lower and Upper Houses
elected Tsutomu Hata, president
of Shinseito, 51st Japanese
prime minister. New cabinet
formed 28 April
|
|
26 April | • | China Airlines Airbus A-600R
(Flight No. 140), bound for
Nagoya from Taipei, crashed
and burned on landing killing
264 of 271 crew and passengers.
|
|
6 May | • | Channel Tunnel, connecting
UK and France, with total
length of 50 km (including 38-
km undersea section) opened
by H. M. Queen Elizabeth II
and President Mitterrand of
France attending opening ceremony.
Eurostar express trains
linking London with Paris and
Brussels in 3 hours to debut
late summer
|
|
15 May | • | So-called "Kamisunagawa
Line", 7.3-km section between
Sunagawa on Hakodate
trunkline and Kamisunagawa,
abolished ending 76-year history
matching rise and fall of
coal industry
|
| • | Train derailed and overturned
at Pinlaung, Kayah State,
Myanmar, on new line completed
in 1993. 25 passengers
killed and 38 injured
|
| • | Fifteen-car Amtrak train (with
about 440 crew and passengers0
aboard), bound for Miami
from New York, derailed and
partially overturned at
Smithfield, North Carolina, killing
one person and injuring
about 180
|
|
18 May | • | JR East twin building completed
at Tabata, Tokyo, consisting
of 10-story office building
(with two basement floors
and total floor area of about
31,500 square meters) and
four-story command post building
(with two basement floors
and total floor area of about
15,000 square meters). Under
construction since April 1992 at
cost of about ¥35 billion
|
|
20 May | • | Commuter trains collided
head-on in Tjirebon City,
Djawa Barat, Indonesia killing
at least nine people and injuring
55
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|
25 May | • | Six JRs excluding JR East
March 1994, JR East recorded
first deficit because of decrease
in medium- and longdistance
passengers. Seven
companies registered total current
profits of ¥221 billion
(down 5.2%) and net profits of
¥111.5 billion (down 11.8%) on
total revenues of ¥4,560 billion
(up 0.1%)
|
|
30 May | • | Construction work started on
nine-story head office building
for JR Hokkaido (with total floor
area of about 17,000 square
meters) on about 10,000
square meters of land in front
of Soen Station, Sapporo.
Completion scheduled for November
1995 at total construction
cost of about ¥5 billion
|
|
6 June | • | Russian-made Tupolev 154 of
China's Northwest Airline,
bound for Guangzhou from
Xian, crashed shortly after
takeoff killing all 146 passengers
and 14 crew
|
|
10 June | • | Tomei Highway Bus, joint venture
of JR Bus Kanto, JR Tokai
Bus and JR West Bus of JR
group, celebrated 25th anniversary.
Total ridership
reached 50 million since Tokyo-
Nagoya Expressway
opened in 1969, with annual
ridership averaging 2 million
|
|
15 June | • | Train services started on
Kansai Airport Line of JR West
and Nankai Electric Railway's
Airport Line to offer railway access
to Kansai International
Airport and tentatively serving
airport employees until formal
opening of airport on 4 September.
Lines connect Kyoto,
Osaka and Tennoji to airport
through existing and new lines,
and also through jointly-operated
sections
|
|
17 June | • | Fifteenth World Cup Soccer
Games opened in USA to continue
until 17 July
|
|
18 June | • | Fokker 27 of Indonesia's
Merpati Nusantara Airways
crashed on Palu mountains in
Sulawesi Island, killing all 12
crew and passengers
|
| • | Small chartered plane, bound
for USA from Mexico with passengers
to see World Cup
crashed near Dulles International Airport killing all 12 crew
and passengers
|
|
20 June | • | "Haihua", 13,481-tonne deadweight
cargo ship operated by
joint venture between Japan
and China, starts on Shanghai-
Nagasaki route as first cargo
ship to connect two cities in 52
years
|
|
21 June | • | According to "Natural Disaster
White Paper" released by National
Land Agency, 435 Japanese
killed or reported missing
in natural disasters in 1993,
second largest number after
522 in 1982. White Paper attributes
large number to many
natural disasters in year, including
earthquake off southwestern
coast of Hokkaido and
torrential rains in Kagoshima
Prefecture. In view of increasing
foreign residents in Japan,
called for new measures including
provision of natural disaster
information in foreign
languages
|
|
28 June | • | "Desirable Railway Technology
toward 21st Century" released
by Council for Transport
Technology, advisory organ to
Transport Minister. Council formulated
"Success 21 Plan"
classifying 20 important technical
items into four categories:
speed increases, ride comfort,
improved safety, and efficiency.
Plan included to develop
large double-decker carriage
to run at 250 km/hour to
ease commuter congestion.
Ministry of Transport hopes to
achieve plan in about 10 years
|
| • | According to "White Paper on
Traffic Safety" released by
Management and Coordination
Agency, 724,675 traffic accidents
occurred in FY1993, up
29,330 over previous fiscal
year, killing 10,942, down
4.4%. Number of victims smallest
since 1989, but still above
10,000 level
|
|
29 June | • | As result of en bloc resignation
of Hata cabinet (25 June), plenary
sessions of Upper and
Lower houses elected Tomiichi
Murayama as 52nd Japanese
prime minister. New cabinet
(coalition of three parties of
Liberal-Democratic Party, Social
Democratic Party of Japan,
and New Party Sakigake,) inaugurated
30 June. Former
Prime Minister Hata's 59 days
in office second shortest in
postwar Japan following 52
days of ex-Prime Minister
Higashikuni
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