Improvement of Management and Japanese Experience of Privatization
1 The Characteristics of Railways in Japan
1) About 80% of Japan is mountainous, and plains constitute only 20% of the landmass. A large amount of the total population (about 120 million) lives in these narrow plains areas,and the density of the population there is very high.
A large portion of this population living in plains areas occupies the belt area facing thePacific Ocean containing the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya. and Osaka (often called "the Pacific Ocean belt"). In this belt, major cities are lined up along the coast, in a formation perfectly suited for the railways.
2) There are more than 100 private rail companies in Japan today, a large number of which are operating in the black.
2 The History of the JNR
1) Before the World War II, the nation-wide railway network in Japan was operated by the Ministry of Railways. After the war, the occupation forces introduced an American-style system called the "public corporation" to the railway network in order to improve both the efficiency of private enterprise and public interests. Thus, Japan National Railways (JNR) was born in 1949.
