Japan's $83bn bullet train at risk as governor defends waterway

Nov 24, 2019 | News On Japan

Nov 24, 2019 (Nikkei) - A bullet-train operator and a locality on the central Pacific Coast are sparring over the environmental impact of a planned ultrafast magnetic-levitation rail, threatening the targeted 2027 start of a service connecting Tokyo and Nagoya.

At the groundbreaking ceremony held Friday for Kanagawa station on the 286 km line, Central Japan Railway President Shin Kaneko struck an upbeat tone, stressing that the project is on track. Yet the dispute with Shizuoka Prefecture has held up construction on a roughly 9 km stretch through the area for two years.

The 9 trillion yen ($83 billion) project would shorten a trip between Nagoya and Shinagawa, which takes about 90 minutes on the fastest bullet trains today, to just 40 minutes.

Central Japan Railway, also known as JR Tokai, and the Land Ministry proposed setting up a three-way panel to sort out the issues. Yet Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu, who has been raising concern about the effect on the Oi River, objected to the makeup of the panel.

"The [Land Ministry's] Railway Bureau would not be able to handle the matter," Kawakatsu said, insisting the inclusion of other bureaus overseeing waterways. Fearing further complication, the ministry has resisted expanding the panel, with the fate of talks up in the air.

The Shizuoka section of the project, involving tunneling through a mountainous region known as the Southern Alps, was slated to be completed in November 2026.

Kawakatsu argues that the tunnel through the Southern Alps would reduce the volume of water flowing into the Oi River, a crucial water source that 620,000 residents rely on.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.