Very interesting post. Are you saying that with all the spending on infrastructure Japan has been shorting public transportation?
On Wed, Jan 23, 2002 at 12:41:42PM +0900, Charles Jannuzi wrote:
>
> Yes, the trains are fast and they do run on time, but Japanese get to
spend
> hours in crowded trains instead of in cars in traffic jams. And here in
> Fukui, where the American dream prevails, we have more and more traffic
> jams, and fewer and fewer buses and trams.
>
> Charles Jannuzi
>
>
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Well, another current American-led line of analysis is that Japan has foolishly poured a trillion dollars into wasteful public works that DID NOT benefit anyone but inefficient construction firms (although you have to remember this is exactly what the US's Japan experts and trade reps called for over ten years ago). Some Japanese believe this too (but I say it still has benefits that go beyond what the US spends on military,if only they'd spend even a fraction of it on restoring the environments they destroy).
A little recent history. One of the reasons why the Japanese government made the Ministry of Construction so powerful in the past 12 years was, in part, a response to demands from the US trade representatives. The US was going to balance trade by getting the Japanese to invest all those surpluses into public works (and at the height of the bubble years it only fueled the flames, since the Japan bubble was a real market meltdown in both real estate and equities).
The resulting infrastructure (one goofy prime minister--the one Bush threw up on--used to always talk about making Japan a lifestyle superpower) would turn Japanese into American-style consumers. This sort of stuff got really big under Clinton because his bunch of wonk idiots were always trolling thinktanks and books for NEW ideas in how to DEAL WITH the Japanese. After old labor Dem Kantor was gone, I think the basic line was cheapen the dollar against the yen til trade is balanced (which even had Japanese automakers scrambling to re-outfit US auto parts makers so as to import the parts from the US, and Toyota outfitting plush new dealerships to sell a handful of Saturns ).
But, anyway, to answer your question. Most of the dense networks around the big cities, I mean the megalopolises--Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto (Kansai), Nagoya--consist of public and private subways and private rail networks that stretch out to the suburbs and exurbs.
These networks have to break even or make money, so that requires packing them with people during rush hour. And they do. I don't think anyone who has ever visited a large Japanese city would say, compared to Europe even, they have neglected subways and commuter trains. They have, however, neglected anyone who wants to walk on the surface or cycle.
Car culture is really big here, too. That's one reason why they got so good at designing and building them (of course, if markets ruled or maybe God, any country that gave the world the Pinto, the Vega and the Gremlin would long ago been forced to give up trying).
Back to Japan. The city-to-city rail extends all over the country, has been heavily subsidized, and did get extended during the last ten years. Construction gets subsidized, but the idea is to get them to make money then. I think that's an important distinction you have to make when discussing the pros and cons of public transportation. Subsidize the network and then the rail lines can provide great service and make some money. Afterall, it was public subsidy that gave the US it's highway networks. A toll road is no different than a privatized rail line in that way.
The city-to-city rail is also a 30 billion dollar hole the government has tried to marketize by breaking JR up and turning it into regional companies, with OVERPRICED stock and everything. Of the four JR companies, two make money: JR East makes solid money, because it connects Tokyo and Nagoya. JR West makes a bit of money (but has to use profits to subsidize unprofitable lines). The other two have never seen profits as far as I know. (This info. might be a bit old since I lost interest in this stuff 5 years ago.) There is quite a bit of private rail between cities, too, if the cities are close together--like Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. In the Kansai, you can get anywhere without using JR.
Anyway, the public works push during the past 12 years has emphasized roads and airports--which is what the American trade reps wanted (it started under Bush for balancing trade, and then got more rationale when Japan fell into a deep recession, like the day the yen hit 79 to the dollar and for a brief while Japan had an economy the value of which exceeded the US's).
Now, let's take it to the real world. I live in Fukui, a 'rural' (for Japan) prefecture on the Japan Sea side of Honshu, about halfway between Kyoto and Kanazawa (if you have a map handy). There are plenty of small cities, towns, and villages in this region, but it can't support private rail networks. The few left (two lines just closed this year) have always required subsidy from local governments. JR West is here but there are , as yet, no bullet trains. However, the new 'shinkansen' bullet train--the Hokuriku Shinkansen--is now being constructed (with really horrific devastation of fragile mountain environments to go with it--I was a trout fisherman).
Meanwhile, there has been all sorts of road construction. If I showed you a picture of 'rural' Fukui, what with all the buildings, roads, and rail lines, you'd think it was New Jersey somewhere between NYC and Philadelphia.
So, have they been shorting public transportation? The subways are already there and run everywhere under the major cities and didn't need expansion, but the heavy population density means they will be packed if everyone leaves work at the same time to go home. Most Americans have no idea what a Japanese city is like. Around the business centers are the rail hubs, and people move in dense waves 3-5 levels below ground. If you could see Shinjuku station in Tokyo at 6 in the afternoon, you'd get the picture.
. Private rail lines around cities and out into the suburbs have to make money to stay in operations, and they do, which means they want maximum ridership on every scheduled train if possible. This, by the way, is one reason some office workers don't go home til late; they go out, get drunk, wander around the red light district for a while, and go home on a late train where they can sleep (which is easy to do if you live at the end of the line).
And the heavily subsidized bullet trains have been extended to the point some of the lines will NOT make money. Everone knows the bullet train line to the Olympic site in Nagano was just pork (though I suppose a lot of urban skiiers now use it to get to the slopes).
Meanwhile, road and bridge construction continues unabated, as far as I can see. And this includes putting expressways through some of the most treacherous terrain and fragile mountain environments you will find anywhere, like in Gifu Prefecture, just east of Fukui.
Hope I answered the question.
Charles Jannuzi
- -- Michael Perelman