China opened a 200-km high–speed line between Shanghai and Hangzhou in October
2010, completing a high–speed railway network of more than 7400 km—a huge jump from
the 120 km of high–speed track created by the opening of the Beijing–Tianjin line in August
2008. What is more, work is progressing steadily to hit the targeted total of 16,000 km by
2020. In turn, a look at Japan shows that we have just ushered in the first extensions to the
Japanese shinkansen network in a long while with 80 km of track between Hachinohe and
Shin Aomori in December 2010 followed by 150 km between Hakata and Shin-Yatsushiro
in March 2011. Nevertheless, even including the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension (to be
completed in 2014), the distance covered by shinkansen in Japan only amounts to 3000 km.
Additionally, with work—implemented in accordance with the 1970 Nationwide Shinkansen
Railway Development Act—progressing at a snail’s pace, Japan’s shinkansen programme still
has yet to be completed after 40 years. Why is there such a difference between Japan and
China? Shinkansen construction in Japan has not been considered from the stance of how
work can be pursued to reliably raise the usefulness of public transport but has instead been
considered based on political decisions. Exacerbating the situation, building of airports in
prefectures across Japan and equipping harbours (ridiculed as glorified fishing ponds) have
been prioritized. Moreover, the recent populist and vote-winning move of lowering or removing
charges on toll motorways is seriously weakening both railways and other public transport
modes as people move to transport by private vehicles. It may be just a fanciful dream to
hope that an overall transport policy can be established by politicians who have forgotten
about measures for the environment, preferring instead to latch onto policies prioritizing the
automobile industry. |