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Central Japan residents to seek injunction to stop maglev train work

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Central Japan residents to seek injunction to stop maglev train work

I think Japanese should take this moment to reflect and treasure what they have. At least their regional authorities and citizens are given the power to meaningfully resist and allowed to use it!

Which is more than what I could say for ours, who can claim the use of already allocated powers as Subversion.

As for this thing's utility, I think even in a world of digital wizardry, there IS meaning in reducing the time it takes to visit a faraway major city to within the time needed for a long commute (my commute to office is also about 40 minutes). Makes such things as a weekend trip to Nagoya (or from Nagoya to Tokyo) more feasible than ever.

Depends on the ticket price too, of course, without the need to spend hours waiting for the plane at some airport.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Jobs for the construction industry vs. people who don't work in the construction industry.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"That remaining house on the runway is a good example how Japanese laws and jurisdiction takes individual rights."

Really?

I didn't know they had "rights" in dictatorial, backwards Japan, where Dear Leader Abe runs rampant and reigns supreme.

That's what a great proportion of the JT crowd professes; I as a good student, I'm just parroting the Sages.

"I guess you have never arrived at Narita Airport or never looked out of the window during taxi."

Next time I come for my yearly visits to my girlfriend's parents, I shall follow your advice and look out the windows.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

A potential white elephant that won't even come to fruition?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@kohakuebisu

When they built the shinkansen to Karuizawa they simply cut the existing mainline between Yokokawa and Karuizawa. Now you have to take a 30 minute train ride to Takasaki to catch the exorbitantly expensive shinkansen to get to Karuizawa.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The distances to travel in Japan are nominal and being able to arrive in one crowded metropolis from another in half the the present time or whatever is really of no benefit...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What is the plan for the regular shinkansen after the maglev is built? Will there be enough ridership for this to pay for itself?

This is a key question for high-speed rail in Japan, and what happens when a new provincial Shink is built is that it takes the highest value customers, those who pay high-speed express (tokkyu) surcharges, away from the existing lines (zairaisen). Operation of these lines, which quickly rack up losses, is usually dumped on the so-called "3rd sector" or "public-private collaborations", both euphemisms for the taxpayer. The existing lines must be kept operational because that is what local people use to go to school, to hospital, to work etc. Only the extremely wealthy can use the Shinkansen on a day to day basis.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Peeping_Tom

I guess you have never arrived at Narita Airport or never looked out of the window during taxi.

That remaining house on the runway is a good example how Japanese laws and jurisdiction takes individual rights.

And I'm glad they do.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This Showa-era vanity project predates email.

Back then, Shinkansening yourself to an external or internal client was the norm. Quicker than Japan Post, more reliable than grainy faxes, it gave the ability to go over your printed plans with him in real time, your index digit tracing proposals shared aloud. That forefinger is now a cursor, and your counterpart can work with you on those plans in real time, editing them from any place of her choice.

But a much more pressing reality from a ridership perspective is how globalised Japan Inc. has become since those initial maglev plans were first hankoed into approval. Manufacturing operations, whole functions and subsidiaries have been exported wholesale. Firms collaborate with overseas partners for development, execution/fulfilment, IT, back office and customer service.

By 2027 video communications will make Zoom look like telegraphy, and many will look back at 2020 as the year that unchained them from the misery of commuting. The Tokaido has evolved from a conduit for straw-sandalled transit through world-beating high speed rail to now exist in the cloud, reaching everywhere.

This project is corporate viagra to hide the digital dysfunction of the public sector and never-quite-privatised JR, in cahoots with a construction industry hell bent on concreting the whole archipelago.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

For god's sake, this water business is obviously just a red herring.

For the moment, the quickest and main way of getting from Tokyo to Nagoya is through Shizuoka.

The proposed line is passing through all the prefectures in between Tokyo and Aichi, but get this, there would be a stop in everyone of those prefectures except for Shizuoka.

So. Not only is Shizuoka gonna potentially lose business by having its usual traffic diverted, to add insult to injury, it'll have to let its competition through its backyard...

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

It's pure blackmailing by the local government if you know all the facts.

Shizuoka local government requested a station to be constructed under the local airport Shizuoka prefecture was developing in which JR Tokai rejected since it was too close to the next station 20Km away before the construction route for the Maglev was finalized.

After finilizing the route JR Tokai files requisition for the tunnel through the uninhabited narrow stretch within the mountains in which Shizuoka local government replies that they will issue a permit IF JR Tokai constructs a station under the failing local airport in exchange for the permit in JR Tokai rejects stating that the two plans are completely independent and requires to be considered separately.

After being rejected by JR Tokai of the barter negotiation, the governor talks about this water nonsense to the press as the reason while Shizuoka local government sales vast amount of water that should flow into the Ooi river to Yamanashi local government.

The amount Shizuoka local government stating would be lost is a complete sham without any scientific basis to back up their claim.

This so called civic group is also the backers of the present governor and the airport.
3 ( +6 / -3 )

What is the plan for the regular shinkansen after the maglev is built? Will there be enough ridership for this to pay for itself?

Why have one world class line when you can have two at more than twice the price?

The Tokyo - Osaka Maglev is estimated to cost $100 billion, it consumes 4 times as much power as the Shinkansen.

Four stations are initially planned between Tokyo - Nagoya; Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture; Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture; Iida, Nagano Prefecture; and Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture.

Not exactly places people would ever really want to go to. 90% of that route will be in tunnels, so it's not gonna be a particuarly pleasant experience.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

This should have been done back in 2011, when government permission to go ahead was given, or in 2014, when Route C under the Japanese Alps and Iida City was approved. They have been looking at this since 1970!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is just another pork barrel project. Japan does not need this Maglev. The Shinkansen are perfect and the time gain for the maglev is insignificant compared to the financial and environmental cost.

The declining population, the loss of tourism for decades because of the pandemic make this project completely superfluous.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

What is the plan for the regular shinkansen after the maglev is built? Will there be enough ridership for this to pay for itself?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

If this is about ground water flow inside the mountain, then perhaps the questions can be addressed through scientific investigation, and then engineering solutions, if needed, and if possible. Sounds like more studying needs to be done as to the reality of the problem, and solutions, if needed.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

That Dear Leader Abe can (and does) as he pleases.

This isnt about Abe really, as JR is privately funding this Maglev project, and has been pushing for the extension for a long time. It is about opening up the economies that are on the line, and it is a huge opportunity for a lot of businesses, but at what cost to the environment and people?

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Going to be JA vs JR, big agriculture against big business. This should be an interesting case,

5 ( +6 / -1 )

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