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Japan maglev train project being derailed by Shizuoka stalemate

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There is already a lot of construction at Sengoku on the Oi river, Hayakawa and Hirokawara on the Uchikouchi River, for drilling inclined shafts, removing debris from the tunnel, and for planned emergency exits. They should have sorted this out before the work began!

21 ( +22 / -1 )

I know they wanna showcase the tech to encourage exports and win applauds, but Japan is just not built for such a train. Try somewhere flat, dry, and rich, like LA-Vegas. 90 minutes is really not worth it, especially at the price the tickets would undoubtedly cost.

20 ( +25 / -5 )

Amid controversy over the line's tunnels passing through the prefecture, Kawakatsu has, along with local communities, pushed back over environmental issues including what is known as the "water problem" involving the effects of construction on the Oi River.

I am not so sure that Kawakatsu's opposition has anything to do with the Oi river. Most people I have talked to translate Kawakatsu's words as follows: "The train is going to bypass the current Nagoya Shinkansen station, which will result in revenue losses to us."

Certainly cutting the commute time from Osaka in half would be a big plus for people living in Osaka who frequently go to Tokyo for business.

12 ( +18 / -6 )

SpitfireToday  04:34 pm JST

Complete waste of money and very harmful to the environment.

I wonder how many said that about the original bullet train system.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

I went for a stay in the Miami Alps Rindo last fall and was taken aback by the extensive environmental and scenic damage caused by the construction, not to mention traffic jams in the middle of nowhere from all of the dump trucks. The waterways no longer were clear or lost their dazzling aquamarine color, the local ryokans were lamenting the loss of visitors. All to cut some time off an already quick Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka trip (and some pork).

7 ( +9 / -2 )

JR Central's President Shunsuke Niwa maintains the new line can serve as a vital backup between the country's three major metropolises in the event of major disasters such as a powerful earthquake involving a potential tsunami.

And a tunnel inside mountains would be more likely to survive? Will the line be able to transport major equipment? There would still be road, air and sea lanes available, after all. On the other hand, since when has damage to the environment been any impediment to any public works project? Isn't Shizuoka just peeved there will be no stop in the prefecture?

6 ( +10 / -4 )

I am not so sure that Kawakatsu's opposition has anything to do with the Oi river. Most people I have talked to translate Kawakatsu's words as follows: "The train is going to bypass the current Nagoya Shinkansen station, which will result in revenue losses to us."

Nagoya is not in Shizuoka, so I'm not sure why the Shizuoka governor could care less, even if the statement were true (which it isn't).

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Back in the 1980s (then nationalised) JR and JAL were squabbling over who would get to run the maglev; JR claiming it's a train and JAL pointing out that it "flies". Despite such tomfoolery Japan was decades ahead of the rest of the world back then, but has since stagnated. Now the Shanghai Maglev is up and running and will be joined by many more before the first Chuo Shinkansen pulls in to Shinagawa.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

What a perfect way to let China beat you to market and scoop up all the international contracts. Japan needs to stop being so Japan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Problem is pushing ahead with the project without securing full authorization first.

Seems he has them by the balls.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Maglevs use tons of electricity, so don't expect any phase out of nuclear power soon.

How much?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not to worry, Japan will once again be long left in the dust by the time they finish the first step of the project. They are already WAY behind in EVs and that market and will never catch up, 

Meanwhile, Japanese automakers claimed 4 of the top 10 sales slots worldwide for 2023, and EV sales are running out of juice.

Toyota sold 8.82 million non-EV vehicles last year, while EV industry leader Chinese BYD, in 10th place, sold a mere 2.1 million.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The terminal station in the east will be Shinagawa so if you want to end up in the Tokyo Station area you are saving as much time as you might think.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

My bet would be the North China Plain, Beijing to Nanjing for example. Call if the Capitals Express.

Try somewhere flat, dry, and rich, like LA-Vegas

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This is a waste of money because the Tokaido Shinkansen already exists, they will inevitably connect Osaka and Kanazawa by Shinkansen to make a backup line via the Japan Sea, and Japan has a falling population that cannot support multiple high speed lines on the same route. The Maglev is incredibly expensive to build and maintain (all tunnels, mostly under mountains) and incredibly expensive to run.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This seems like something that should have gotten resolved before construction started. JR probably thought they could pressure Shizuoka in the end to let them build.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I wonder if those commenting that the prefectural governor is right are reading the article correctly?

The problem in this case is that the prefectural governor is the only one who has single-handedly put a stop to the project, despite the fact that JR, as well as the national government and the smaller municipalities included in Shizuoka Prefecture, want construction to begin as soon as possible.

Because of this one prefectural governor, JR, the national government, and all the other prefectures and municipal districts where the Linear Linear line is scheduled to open are all inconvenienced.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The movement of people and goods is accelerating due to the development of the Internet and aircraft, and this will not stop in the future.

No matter what kind of society we become, people will continue to move and things will continue to move.

It is clear to anyone that technological innovation will further promote these trends. No matter how bad it is for the environment or how much it is said to be a waste of taxpayers' money. People who think it's a waste don't see reality.

By the way, if you can't tell the difference between Shanghai's Maglev and Japan's Maglev, you shouldn't brag about Shanghai's Maglev too much. This is because it is a German technology and is far from perfectly linear.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Amid controversy over the line's tunnels passing through the prefecture, Kawakatsu has, along with local communities, pushed back over environmental issues including what is known as the "water problem" involving the effects of construction on the Oi River.

I am not so sure that Kawakatsu's opposition has anything to do with the Oi river. Most people I have talked to translate Kawakatsu's words as follows: "The train is going to bypass the current Nagoya Shinkansen station, which will result in revenue losses to us."

Certainly cutting the commute time from Osaka in half would be a big plus for people living in Osaka who frequently go to Tokyo for business.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

I would personally like to see Maglev Shinkansen trains succeed.

However, the honest reality is that it will probably be ludicrously expensive and thus inaccessible to the average passenger. The beloved Tokaido Shinkansen can already get you from Shinagawa to Nagoya in, what, an hour and half? Osaka in only two and a half? I think we have to ask ourselves if this is really a necessity and if it is worth spending billions of taxpayer yen as well as damaging mountains, all for the sake of getting salarymen to cram their schedules with even more meetings at other regional offices, in an age where video conferencing has already rendered that largely obsolete. Or, for the uber rich, this is unnecessarily high levels of convenience.

Don't get me wrong, something like a Maglev that runs between Tokyo and Sapporo could be really exciting, but that's not what this is. China needed Maglevs to connect distant cities in an age of rapid development, but even they went about it the wrong way, and now there is the infamous "trains to nowhere" problem.

Japan should be rebuilding its schools which are quickly dilapidating and falling apart, instead of trying to look cool and modern.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

@Spitfire your logic suggest that ANYTHING being built is also harmful to the environment.

Complete waste of money and very harmful to the environment.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Nobody seems excited about technical advantages of this new MAGLEV system, seems incremental to most.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

A complete waste of time, money and resources. Improve and quadruple the existing Shinkansen insted

-2 ( +10 / -12 )

No need for the Maglev. The only point is technology development.

The Chubu Oudan Expressway has already caused a lot of environmental damage to the area

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Go Shizuoka!

This is a huge waste of money. Maglevs use tons of electricity, so don't expect any phase out of nuclear power soon. One of Japan's iconic sights is the Tokaido Shink going past Mt. Fuji. This thing will be in a tunnel almost the entire journey. If you cannot imagine what this will be like, please ride the subway from one end of the line to the other.

Who cares if businessmen (yes, men) have to spend one hour longer on a train to go to some probably waste of time meeting that could be done on Zoom. Thats assuming Zoom lets people read directly from a paper they've handed out already, because that's what happens in most Japanese meetings.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

Good old Japan - shooting itself in the foot at every single opportunity! Wonderful!

Easy kid, it's just matter of time..

Cut the girly whine..

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Yes, automobiles are a waste of money, subways a waste of money, turbofan jet engines a waste of money, cell phones a waste of money, the internet a waste of money (well, that may be true…), microwave ovens a waste of money, MRI’s a waste of money.

We’d all be knee deep in horse poop if some of you had your way.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

You can watch a the day play of a ballgame at either Osaka or Nagoya. have enough time to jump on the Magvel get of at Tokyo with time to spare to catch the last Shinkansen to Aomori at 8:30 pm. I will certainly be doing that run.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Not to worry, Japan will once again be long left in the dust by the time they finish the first step of the project. They are already WAY behind in EVs and that market and will never catch up, and now they are set to lose in this market, too. China, meanwhile, will push full steam -- err... full mag -- ahead and lead the world. That is not a fact I like, but it still a fact no less.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

Not to worry, Japan will once again be long left in the dust by the time they finish the first step of the project. They are already WAY behind in EVs and that market and will never catch up,

I don't think they are trying to, with the problems and costs of EVs not to mention the lack of range and where all of the minerals come from, it's not likely that they will overtake combustion engines entirely anytime soon.

and now they are set to lose in this market, too. China, meanwhile, will push full steam -- err... full mag -- ahead and lead the world.

With copied and faulty technology, No thank you.

That is not a fact I like, but it is still a fact no less.

Not entirely necessarily.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

This maglev train project or Tokyo bribery Olympics is just delusions that tracing half century ago successful images will realize economic growth like 70's or 80's again.

Japan's bullet trains have images as if symbol of Japan's economic growth at 2nd half of 20 century in society but its actuality expanded inequality between handful large town area and many local districts.

Advantages by faster train is doubtful anymore in present Japan where government repeats missteps and victimizes people economically socially medically.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Japan will have its Maglevs in its right time, same as China..

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

This project should be the main priority of the country.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Complete waste of money and very harmful to the environment.

-9 ( +20 / -29 )

This Shinkan Sen is a complete waste of money not to mention a great hazzard when it comes to Earth Quakes,

-9 ( +9 / -18 )

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