Independent Research Project
Current Events #1:
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20221129-73790/Links to an external site.
I am researching the history of the development of the public transportation system in Japan and how it has contributed to the growth and access in Japan. I saw an ad on the metro today about a new subway line that is in the works of being developed so I decided to look into it a bit more. Although the plan to build a new line was announced in November, construction for the new 6 kilometer subway line will not begin until 2030, will open in 2040, and be completed in 2050. The hope with opening this new line is too allow better access to the waterfront areas, one key location would be for the new apartment complexes being built in the old Olympic village which is projected to house 12,000 people. Another key connection would be linking the soon to be finished Haneda Airport Access Line to central Tokyo. An additional hope that the new subway system will bring is to boost Japan's ranking for GDP per Capita, as the new subway line is planned to start turning a profit 30 years after opening.
Although the plan for the new subway line seems to be a great addition to the Tokyo subway system there are also some concerns. The public transportation usage has declined about 30% of pre-pandemic levels, some key factors being some workers now working from home and major layoffs that occurred during the pandemic. There is some potential concern around global warming because one of the goals of the new subway system is to clear the heavy car traffic in the waterfront areas. However, with sea levels rising, it is possible that the waterfront area could start flooding before the subway has a chance to open in 2040.
Current Events #2: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/06/58b61710b662-jr-east-hit-by-system-failure-with-app-card-payments-disrupted.html
The news article that I found was called "JR East Hit by System Failure with App, Card Payments Disrupted" which was posted through the website "News On Japan". On June 24th (Saturday), the mobile PASMO app was hit with a malfunction that made it so users could not charge load up their card or tap into the subway entrance to pay the fee due to a power failure as work on the sever was being done. This disruption occurred around 1 pm, so many people were out and about at the time who were impacted. These kinds of stories make me wonder what is the most effective payment form for passengers. Having a physical PASMO card could get lost. The 1927 turnstile where the passenger would drop a 10 sen coin (1/10 the cost of a yen) to get through, one could not have that kind of coin on them. The original payment of buying a ticket at the counter could cause long lines and the tickets could easily run out. Regardless of my thoughts, it seems as though Japan will continue relying on technological advances to change up how public transportation is run. For example, another article I was reading was talking about the hopes and plans to make the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train more automated so that the drivers can take on tasks that the conductor usually does and the conductor can tend to more passenger needs.
Current Events #3: https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20220909-56813/
The news article that I found was called "Lack of Wheels For Tourists Keeps Okinawa Recovery From Getting Into Gear" which was published September 2022 and was written by Yusaku Yano and Miyako Taniguchi. The article talked about how during the pandemic, many car rental companies had to sell some of their cars to avoid being shut down. However, now that tourism is back on the rise since COVID restrictions have been lowered there have been major struggles to have enough rental cars. The article mentions that without a rental car, traveling throughout the island is quite difficult, especially in the northern parts of the island. The only major means of public transportation is the two car monorail in the main city area of the island, with the rest of the island being heavily reliant of single car transportation and therefore making the rental car business a key pillar for tourism. Although taxis are also option, there is also a shortage of drivers due to many employees retiring. Although there have been propositions to build a railway line the entire length of the Okinawa main island, resources and time will prove difficult to such a project and can't address the current problem in a timely manner.