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32-557: The JRCC was established in 1964 as the successor to JNR 's railway line construction division. Kakuei Tanaka , then an influential member of the House of Representatives, was said to have been involved in its creation. Since by 1964 the existing railway network had been largely completed, the JRCC's primary responsibility was the planning and construction of the new Shinkansen lines, urban railway lines, and third-sector lines. The opening of

64-403: A Japanese railway corporation or company-related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Japan National Railways The Japanese National Railways ( 日本国有鉄道 , Nihon Kokuyū Tetsudō or Nippon Kokuyū Tetsudō ) abbreviated JNR or Kokutetsu ( 国鉄 ) , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. As of June 1, 1949,

96-483: A difficult problem for JNR. Since public workers were prohibited to strike , they carried out "work-to-rule protests" that caused trains to be delayed. On March 13, 1973, train delays caused by such protests resulted in a riot of angered passengers at Ageo Station in Saitama Prefecture. From November 26, 1975, to December 3, 1975, major labor unions of JNR conducted an eight-day-long illegal "strike for

128-718: A directive of the U.S. General HQ in Tokyo , JGR was reorganized into Japanese National Railways, a state-owned public corporation . JNR enjoyed many successes, including the inauguration of high-speed Shinkansen service along the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line on October 1, 1964. However, JNR was not a state-run corporation; its accounting was independent from the national budget. Rural sections without enough passengers began to press its management, pulling it further and further into debt. In 1983, JNR started to close its unprofitable 83 local lines (the closure continued three years after

160-522: A public corporation, JNR experienced a series of mysterious incidents as follows. Although the police at that time treated them as terrorism by the communists , doubts have been raised as to the validity of this conclusion. In later years, JNR was a target of radical leftists . On October 21, 1968, groups of extremist students celebrating "International Antiwar Day" occupied and vandalized Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. They criticized JNR's collaboration in

192-611: The Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency , the successor body to the JNR Settlement Corporation. The agency said it would pay 20 billion yen, approximately 22 million yen per worker, to 904 plaintiffs. However, as the workers were not reinstated, it was not a full settlement. Between 1950 and 1965, JNR indirectly owned a professional baseball team named Kokutetsu Swallows ( 国鉄スワローズ , Kokutetsu Suwarōzu ) . Swallow

224-689: The Railway Nationalization Act of 1906 and placed under the control of the Railway Institute. Later, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications took over control of the network. The ministries used the name Japanese Government Railways (JGR) to refer their network in English. During World War II , many JGR lines were dismantled to supply steel for the war effort. On June 1, 1949, by

256-511: The Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Seikan Tunnel and the planning of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project all proved beneficial to JRCC's bottom line. However, in spite of debate over JNR's plan to eliminate little-used local lines and become profitable again, JRCC was forced to build new local lines in response to pressure from Diet politicians. Ultimately construction of new lines continued to ensure "balanced development of

288-473: The Vietnam War by operating freight trains carrying jet fuel for U.S. military use. On November 29, 1985, militants supporting a radical sect of JNR's labor union objecting to the privatization of JNR damaged signal cables at 33 points around Tokyo and Osaka to halt thousands of commuter trains and then set fire to Asakusabashi Station in Tokyo. As such, relationships with labor unions were always

320-518: The JNR Settlement Corporation, later stated that their help in finding work consisted of giving him photocopies of recruitment ads from newspapers. This period ended in April 1990, and 1,047 were dismissed. This included 64 Zendoro members and 966 Kokuro members. Twenty-three years after the original privatization, on June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court settled the dispute between the workers and

352-529: The JR companies. There was substantial pressure on union members to leave their unions, and within a year, the membership of the National Railway Workers' Union (Kokuro) fell from 200,000 to 44,000. Workers who had supported the privatization, or those who left Kokuro, were hired at substantially higher rates than Kokuro members. There was a government pledge that no one would be "thrown out onto

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384-584: The Miyajima Ferry remains active as of 2023. A number of unions represented workers at JNR, including the National Railway Workers' Union (Kokuro), the National Railway Locomotive Engineers' Union (Doro), and Doro-Chiba, a break-away group from Doro. The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by 17 private companies that were nationalized following

416-449: The date of establishment of JNR, it operated 19,756.8 km (12,276.3 mi) of narrow gauge ( 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in )) railways in all 46 prefectures of Japan. This figure expanded to 21,421.1 km (13,310.5 mi) in 1981 (excluding Shinkansen), but later reduced to 19,633.6 km (12,199.8 mi) as of March 31, 1987, the last day of JNR. JNR operated both passenger and freight services. Shinkansen ,

448-467: The debt has risen to ¥30 trillion ($ 491 billion in 2021 dollars). Many lawsuits and labor commission cases were filed over the decades from the privatization in 1987. Kokuro and the National Railway Locomotive Engineers' Union (Zendoro), both prominent Japanese railway unions, represented a number of the JNR workers. Lists of workers to be employed by the new organizations were drawn up by JNR and given to

480-615: The establishment of the ministry. This article covers the railways operated by the central government of Japan from 1872 to 1949 notwithstanding the official English name of the system of each era. By the end of World War II in 1945, the Japanese Government Railways operated on the main Japanese islands of Honshū , Hokkaidō , Kyūshū , Shikoku and Karafuto . The railways in Taiwan and Korea were operated by

512-420: The later Japan Railways Group . The English name "Japanese Government Railways" was what the Ministry of Railways (established in 1920) used to call its own "Ministry Lines" ( 省線 , shōsen ) and sometimes the ministry itself as a railway operator. Other English names for the government railways include Imperial Japanese Government Railways and Imperial Government Railways , which were mainly used prior to

544-716: The local Governor-General Offices - the Taiwan Government-General Railway and the Chosen Government Railway respectively - and were not part of JGR. While the JGR was the only major operator of intercity railways after the railways were nationalized in 1906–1907, privately owned regional railways were also active. The gauge used for Japanese railways was 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) (narrow gauge) other than some minor exceptions (184.2 km (114.5 mi) total in

576-461: The nation." In September 1979, it was revealed that JRCC had used money intended for overtime and other expenses for personal vacations, and it became the target of the Board of Audit of Japan. As a result, six people (including the director, Hiromori Kawashima ) were forced to step down and 352 had their salary reduced, received warnings, or were otherwise reprimanded. A special accounting committee

608-400: The operating department generally mean "department (or office, section, agency) of railways" or like. Since opening in 1872, the railway set fares for passengers in three classes. The transportation of freight was charged based on weight and class of goods. In 1872, passengers could choose from Upper, Middle and Lower classes, which were later renamed as First, Second and Third classes. Freight

640-480: The peak years of 1936-38 ) of 762 mm ( 2 ft 6 in ) gauge lines being used. The first railway in Japan was operated by the imperial government in 1872. The idea of centralization of the railway was promoted under the idea of "breaking down of the geographical barriers that existed in the feudal communities which hindered the centralization of authority". Placing the railways under government control

672-591: The privatization). By 1987, JNR's debt was over ¥27 trillion ($ 442 billion at 2021 exchange rates) and the company was spending ¥147 for every ¥100 earned. Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone , an avowed advocate of privatization , strongly supported breaking up JNR and in August 1982 launched the JNR Reform Commission to officially begin the process. By an act of the Diet of Japan , on April 1, 1987, JNR

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704-501: The right to strike", which resulted in a total defeat of the unions. Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways ( JGR ) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( Japanese : 鉄道省 , romanized :  Tetsudō-shō , Japanese pronunciation: [te̞t͡sɨᵝdo̞ːɕo̞ː] ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and

736-554: The street", and so unhired workers were classified as "needing to be employed" and were transferred to the JNR Settlement Corporation , where they could be assigned for up to three years. Around 7,600 workers were transferred in this way, and around 2,000 of them were hired by JR firms, and 3,000 found work elsewhere. Mitomu Yamaguchi, a former JNR employee from Tosu in Saga prefecture who had been transferred to

768-518: The world's first high-speed railway was debuted by JNR in 1964. By the end of JNR in 1987, four lines had been constructed: JNR operated bus lines as feeders, supplements or substitutions of railways. Unlike railway operation, JNR Bus was not superior to other local bus operators. The JR Bus companies are the successors of the bus operation of JNR. JNR operated ferries to connect railway networks separated by sea or to meet other local demands: Out of three routes assigned to JR companies in 1987, only

800-599: Was privatized and divided into seven railway companies, six passenger and one freight, collectively called the Japan Railways Group or JR Group. Long-term liabilities of JNR were taken over by the Japanese National Railway Settlement Corporation . That corporation was subsequently disbanded on October 22, 1998, and its remaining debts were transferred to the national budget's general accounting. By this time

832-822: Was a symbol of JNR as it is the English equivalent of the Japanese Tsubame , the name of a deluxe train operated by JNR in the 1950s. JNR sold the team to the Sankei Shinbun in 1965, and called the Atoms from 1966 to 1973; the team is now the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and has been owned by the Yakult company since 1970. JNR as a public corporation (from 1949 to 1987) experienced five major accidents (including two shipwrecks of railway ferries) with casualties more than 100: In its very early days as

864-476: Was also formed to return the mis-spent funds and pay taxes as was deemed necessary. In 1998 JRCC assumed the assets and liabilities of the Japanese National Railway Settlement Corporation (JNRSC); JNRSC's existing long-term debts were incorporated into the national government's general debt. The JRCC was dissolved on October 1, 2003 and its responsibilities were passed to the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT). This article about

896-589: Was also possible to ship them via futsubin (regularly-scheduled trains) and kyukobin (express trains). "It may, therefore, be fairly said that the freight rates of the State-owned railways in Japan are of absolute uniformity." As Japan is an island nation, it was noted that ocean-going vessels are a major source of competition for the freight business of the railway. The railway invested heavily in methods to reduce coal consumption in steam locomotives; between 1920 and 1936, coal consumption per kilometer traveled

928-420: Was for military and political ends; the government had no intention for the central railway to be operated as a "model enterprise". Early shareholders of the railway were members of the nobility, holding "the major portion of (the) capital". The governmental system was largely expanded by the promulgation of the Railway Nationalization Act in 1906. In 1920, the Ministry of Railways was established. In 1949, JGR

960-452: Was reduced by about a quarter. The government mandated the use of automatic couplers on all cars on the system in July 1925. The system was transitioning from vacuum brakes to air brakes at this time, with most freight cars equipped with air brakes by April 1927. One of the roles of the Japanese Government Railways was to attract foreign tourists to Japan. In 1930, the government created

992-560: Was reorganized to become a state-owned public corporation named the Japanese National Railways . Before the establishment of the Japanese National Railways as a public corporation on June 1, 1949, the Japanese Government Railways were operated by the governmental agencies. The table below shows the historical operators of the JGR. Translated names of ministries may not be official. Names of

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1024-406: Was shipped using one of five rates based on 100 kin of product. A 1923 review of the shipping tariffs further explained that goods are divided into three shipping classes (according to the ways in which they are to be handled by the railway): koguchi atsukai (goods in small lots), kashikini atsukai (goods for a reserved freight car) and tokushu atsukai (goods requiring special treatment). It

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