| 1 August | •
| SkyNetAsia Airways began services on Narita–Miyazaki route as third airline to start domestic services since Japan’s airline deregulation in 1998 |
| •
| Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced order for 300 subway cars for New York City Department of Transportation |
| 11 August | •
| US Airways group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $7.81 billion in assets and $7.83 billion in debts |
| 22 August | •
| Sightseeing plane crashed in Nepal, killing 18 people |
| 23 August | •
| Delta, Northwest, and Continental airlines announced business alliance, including code sharing on domestic and international routes |
| 29 August | •
| Antonov 28 of Vostok Airlines crashed on coast of Sea of Okhotsk, killing all 16 passengers and crew |
| 30 August | •
| Domestic passenger plane crashed in northern Brazil, killing all 24 passengers and crew |
| 5 September | •
| JR East announced start of shinkansen onboard ticket checking system from 1 December with opening of Morioka–Hachinohe section of Tohoku Shinkansen |
| 12 September | •
| Hokuriku Shin’etsu District Transport Bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) granted application of Niigata Coastal Railway to stop railway operations between Kuroyama and Tarodai (5.4 km) and dissolve railway company |
| •
| First board meeting of third-sector Echizen Railway that will take over threatened operations of Echizen main line and Mikuni Ashihara Line of Keifuku Electric Railway in Fukui Prefecture |
| 17 September | •
| All Nippon Airways announced business tie-up with Hokkaido International Airlines (AirDo), including code sharing, aircraft maintenance and sales |
| 18 September | •
| South and North Korea announced plans to start reconstruction of railway and road links destroyed/separated during Korean War |
| •
| JR West announced full-scale operation of female-only carriages from 1 October after trial operation on Osaka Kanjo and Katamachi lines |
| 20 September | •
| JR East announced new train timetable from 1 December timed with opening of Morioka–Hachinohe extension of Tohoku Shinkansen. New Hayate to connect Tokyo and Hachinohe in 2 hours 56 minutes at top speed; Shiratori limited express to debut between Hachinohe and Hakodate, and Tsugaru limited express between Hachinohe and Hirosaki |
| 26 September | •
| JR West announced donation of first ED70 AC locomotive to Old Nagahama Station Museum managed by Japan National Trust |
| •
| Express train on Nagoya main line of Nagoya Railroad collided with passenger car on level crossing near Inazawa City in Aichi Prefecture, killing car driver and derailing first two train carriages |
| 30 September | •
| JR Central announced plans to install new and improved passenger information facilities, including train departure signs at gates, information boards, waiting-room smoke detectors, and new electric signboards on platforms, in preparation for opening of Shinagawa Station in autumn 2003 and consequent full-scale timetable revisions |
| 1 October | •
| Fire on Diamond Princess (113,000 tons) luxury liner under construction at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipworks destroyed about 51,000 m2 of passenger cabins |
| 2 October | •
| Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air System (JAS) merged to form Japan Airlines System Corporation, ranked world’s sixth largest carrier and third in sales |
| 4 October | •
| Thirteen female ‘service concierges’ assigned to Kyobashi Station of Keihan Electric Railway after building remodelling |
| 8 October | •
| Railway Day Committee formed by Railway Bureau of MLIT and railway companies and groups, announced recipients of Japan Rail Award created to commemorate 130th anniversary of Japanese railways. JR East awarded for SUICA smart-card gate system (contribution to adoption of IT) and Okayama Electric Tramway awarded for contributions including super-low-floor tram and provision of service information (contribution to revitalization of local railways) |
| 15 October | •
| Qantas B-747 bound for Australia from Narita Airport hit turbulence after takeoff, injuring 12 passengers and crew |
| 16 October | •
| Bandai Resort Development (Bandai Town, Fukushima Prefecture) applied to Tokyo District Court for rehabilitation under Civil Rehabilitation Law, placing company in de-facto bankruptcy with debts totalling about ¥95 billion—investors include JAL and JR East |
| 18 October | •
| Council for Reform of Special Corporations decided to submit Reform of Special Corporations Bill 26 to 155th special assembly of Diet. Bill’s provisions include privatization of Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) into special public corporation and merger of Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation with Corporation for Advanced Transportation and Technology, forming independent public corporation called Foundation for Railway Construction and Advanced Transportation and Technology |
| 21 October | •
| Vietnam Airlines announced plan to spin off short-haul domestic, Laotian, and Cambodian routes to new subsidiary called Express Airline. Vietnam Airlines to concentrate on international flights while retaining lucrative Hanoi–Ho Chi Min service |
| 27 October | •
| Shortest passenger railway in Japan, third-sector Shibayama Railway (2.2 km between East Narita–Shibayama-chiyoda) started service with connections to Keisei Electric Railway |
| 30 October | •
| First board meeting of Higa Orange Railway formed to manage existing Kagoshima main line running parallel to new Kyushu Shinkansen between Yashiro and Kawauchi |
