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5 December | • | JR West introduced popular
game software character livery on Hikari
trains of Sanyo Shinkansen
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8 December | • | JR East, JR West, and JR
Hokkaido revised train operations. JR East
added one return trip to Komachi on Akita
Shinkansen and changed most carriages on
Tohoku Shinkansen to E2 series (max.
speed 275 km/h), reducing time between
Tokyo and Akita by 13 minutes to 4 hours
and 8 minutes, and time between Tokyo and
Morioka by 9 minutes to 2 hours and 34
minutes. JR Hokkaido increased number
of trips by Super Ozora super express
between Sapporo and Kushiro from 3 to 4
each day, and number of trips by Super
Hokuto between Sapporo and Hakodate from
6 to 7 each day. JR West shifted Hakutaka
operation on Hokuriku Line and Hokuetsu
Kyuko Line from daytime to mornings and
evenings
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| • | JR East announced start of
steam-locomotive operations on 111-km
Banetsu West Line between Niitsu and Aizu
(Niigata and Fukushima prefectures) on 29
April 1999. Steam locomotive No. 180 preserved
in elementary-school yard in Niigata
City to be restored and used for operation
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10 December | • | Keisei Electric Railway
announced start of articulated bus service
between Makuhari Business Centre (Chiba
City) and Makuhari Hongo Station (Keisei
Chiba Line, JR East Sobu Line) in response
to increase in number of passengers.
Although articulated buses used once before
in 1985 to carry tourists at International
Science Expo '85 in Tsukuba, Ibaraki
Prefecture, this is first time approval granted
for general bus services
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11 December | • | Airbus 310 of Thai Airways
International crashed in south Thailand,
killing 101 persons and injuring 45
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16 December | • | JR East agreed to build
new station at Honjo City on Joetsu
Shinkansen to be opened in April 2004. New
station to be located between Kumagaya
and Takasaki, and Joetsu City to provide
station land for free to JR East. Construction
cost of ¥12.5 billion to be borne by local
community
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17 December | • | Teito Rapid Transit Authority
(Eidan Subway) filed request with Ministry
of Transport for approval to construct
Subway No. 13 (8.9 km) between Ikebukuro
and Shibuya in Tokyo. Construction costing
¥240 billion scheduled to begin in fiscal
1998 with operations to start in 2007. Line
to run parallel and inside JR East Yamanote
Line and to connect with Tobu Tojo Line and
Seibu Ikebukuro Line
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28 December | • | Domestic annual passengers
using Tokyo International Airport
(Haneda) topped 50 million for first time. In
terms of number of domestic passengers,
Haneda now ranks fourth after Hartsfield
Atlanta International Airport, O'Hare
International Airport (Chicago), and Dallas/
Fort Worth International Airport
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|
4 January | • | National Police Agency announced
Japanese road deaths in 1998
dropped for third consecutive year by 429
people to 9211
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| • | Bus exploded in Linghai City,
Liaoning Province in northeast China,
killing 19 of 40 passengers
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11 January | • | Ibara Railway opened as
third-sector railway operating 23 trips each
day on 41.1-km single track between Soja,
Okayama Prefecture, and Kannabe,
Hiroshima Prefecture
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|
12 January | • | Korean-registered cargo ship
(4160 tonnes) capsized 30-km north of
Shirase Lighthouse on Goto Islands,
Nagasaki Prefecture, drowning six out of 13
crew
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13 January | • | Company employee commuting
between JR East Takasaki Station
and Shinjuku Station charged ¥15 million
for fare cheating by using two commuter
tickets for 4 years. Also ordered to pay fine
of ¥20,000 by Tokyo Summary Court
|
| • | US KC-135 air tanker carrying
18,000 liters of aviation fuel crashed in
western Germany near Dutch border, killing
all 4 crew members
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19 January | • | German ICE high-speed train
from Düsseldorf bound for Berlin derailed
in northern Germany but no casualties
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|
20 January | • | Continental Airlines' Boeing
747 with 327 passengers and 18 crew
bound from Narita to Honolulu caught in air
turbulence over Pacific Ocean, injuring 18
passengers and 4 crew
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|
21 January | • | US F16 fighter from Misawa
Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, crashed and
exploded in forest Iwate Prefecture. Exploding
munitions caused difficulties extinguishing
fire and burned about 1000 m2 of forest.
Pilot ejected safely
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26 January | • | Russian-built helicopter
crashed after takeoff from resort in Maldive
Islands killing five tourists
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2 February | • | JR East announced ¥4-
billion 5-year plan starting April 1999 to
introduce safety measures such as new ATS
system and door sensors to prevent
problems and accidents
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|
4 February | • | JR Central agreed to pay
additional ¥20.7 billion to help meet debt
obligations of former JNR and revised
earnings projections for FY 1998 downwards
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| • | Chuo Ward of Tokyo
announced closure of Ginbura Bus running
6.4 km between Ginza and Nihonbashi via
Tokyo Station by end of fiscal 1999 due to
lack of profitability. Bus took name from prewar
Japanese slang expression ‘ginbura’
meaning leisurely stroll through Ginza.
Service started in March 1992 to promote
business and tourism in area
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|
11 February | • | Tokyo Metropolitan
Government announced full-scale
introduction from April 1999 of ninety 12"
liquid crystal panels to display Japan's first
animated commercials in subway tunnels
|
| • | After running aground,
Japanese-owned freighter, New Carissa
(44,527 tonnes) blown up by US Coast
Guard to prevent 1.52 million liters of fuel
oil leaking into sea
|
| • | Sixteen passengers and
four crew saved from burning cruise ship in
Tokyo Bay by five patrol boats
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|
21 February | • | Five JR East track workers
hit and killed by train in freight yard
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|
24 February | • | JR East dropped plan to
sue government over additional payments
of debts left by JNR and agreed to pay designated
share of ¥70 billion by end of FY
1998
|
| • | Tupolev 154 belonging to
China's Southwest Airlines crashed in
Zhejiang Province, killing all 50 passengers
and 11 crew as well as two farmers on
ground
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