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30-433: The Yamaguchi Line ( 山口線 , Yamaguchi-sen ) of Seibu Railway is a 2.8 km (1.7 mi) manually-driven rubber-tyred people mover that runs between Tamako in Higashimurayama, Tokyo and Seibukyūjō-mae in Tokorozawa, Saitama in Japan. The line has an official nickname Leo Liner , after 'Leo', the hero of Kimba the White Lion , who is also the mascot of Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team. The line

60-620: A blue colored line on unpainted stainless steel or aluminium bodies. The Ikebukuro Line group includes the Ikebukuro Line and its branches. The Shinjuku Line group includes the Shinjuku Line and its branches, as well as the Tamagawa Line, which is not a branch of the Shinjuku Line but had been owned by the Shinjuku Line's operator before its merger with the Ikebukuro Line operator. Until May 31, 2017, this list included

90-622: A connection to the International Olympic Committee president, to give Nagano an edge on the bid. He continued to work with them even after stepping down from the committee, and has been cited by former Japan Olympic Committee members as the reason for Nagano's successful bid. The decision to host the Winter Olympics in Nagano was heavily criticized by environmentalist groups, noting that the construction of

120-537: A coordinated service to transport night soil from central Tokyo to outlying disposal areas. At the time, night soil was generally transported by truck to Tokyo Bay and disposed of by dumping there, but the progress of World War II led to gasoline and personnel shortages which made this system unsustainable. The sewage service continued through the American occupation until 1951. As a result of this service cooperation, Seibu Railway merged with Musashino Railway to form

150-510: A train line, with the official name Seibu Yamaguchi Line . In 1984, the steam and battery powered railway closed, The next year, the new people mover line opened, mostly along the same route. All trains stop at all stations. Seibu Railway "Seibu Railway" was originally the name of a tram service between Shinjuku and Ogikubo, which was transferred to the Tokyo metropolitan government in 1951 and eventually closed in 1962. The Seibu Railway

180-813: Is now known as the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. The merger was largely orchestrated by Yasujirō Tsutsumi , a real estate developer who opened the Tamako Railway (now the Seibu Tamako Line ) in 1928, became a major shareholder in the Musashino Railway and merged the two in 1940. In 1944, the Tokyo metropolitan government, under the administration of Shigeo Ōdachi , hired the Seibu Railway and the Musashino Railway to provide

210-442: Is the only people mover that is operated by one of Japan's major private railway companies . In 1950, the predecessor of the line opened as an attraction ride called Fantasy Train ( おとぎ列車 , Otogi Ressha ) , running through the amusement area developed by Seibu Railway and its allies. Battery-powered locomotives were used at the time, running on 762 mm ( 2 ft 6 in ) gauge track. In 1952, it legally became

240-550: The Ahina Line ( 安比奈線 ) . Prior to the formal closure, the 3.2 km (2.0 mi) freight line between Minami-Ōtsuka Station and Ahina Station had suspended operation since 1963. As of 1 April 2015 , Seibu operates a fleet of 1,274 electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles. Several Tokyu 9000 and Odakyu 8000 series trains (100 vehicles in total) are expected to be transferred from their original operators from 2024 in use primarily on Seibu's branch lines such as

270-534: The Credit Saison empire, perceived rivalry between the two brothers' fiefdoms provided fodder for the popular press. As chairman, Tsutsumi focused on developing and expanding the vast land holdings inherited from his father. At one point, his companies were believed to own one-sixth of all the land in Japan. A significant portion of Tsutsumi's business ventures went towards sports: he served as chairman of

300-727: The Japan Ice Hockey Federation and owned the Seibu Tetsudo hockey club. Though he reportedly did not have much knowledge of baseball, 1979 saw his purchase of the Seibu Lions baseball team and the construction of a new stadium in the greater Tokyo area . He later served as the first chairman of the Japan Olympic Committee, resigning in 1990, after less than a year. Despite his resignation, he continued to exert significant control over

330-571: The Kokubunji and Chichibu lines, thus bringing down energy consumption as they replace some of Seibu's oldest vehicles. Single fare (Adult) Yoshiaki Tsutsumi Yoshiaki Tsutsumi ( 堤 義明 , Tsutsumi Yoshiaki , born May 29, 1934) is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble , Forbes listed Tsutsumi as the wealthiest person in the world during 1987–94 due to his extensive real estate investments through

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360-547: The Seibu Corporation , which he controlled. In 1987, he had a net worth of $ 20 billion (approximately $ 46 billion in today's value ). However, as a result of a series of scandals and his 2005 arrest, his net worth has fallen to such an extent that he was taken off the Forbes list of billionaires in 2007. Tsutsumi was born May 29, 1934, to businessman Yasujirō Tsutsumi and his mistress Ishizaka Tsuneko. He

390-669: The Ikebukuro area to Tokorozawa, Saitama , where the two main Seibu lines intersect. Tsutsumi became the controlling shareholder in Seibu Railway following the merger through his holding company Kokudo Corporation. After gaining control of Seibu, Kokudo developed the Prince Hotels chain, acquired the baseball team now known as the Saitama Seibu Lions , in addition to continuing its core real estate business throughout

420-515: The Seibu Corporation public to English readers. According to the paper, the Seibu corporation's headquarters were raided by police, who allegedly found evidence of several Japanese business law-breaking incidents. The police, for example, claimed that the company declared that their major shareholders accounted only for 64 percent of the company's shareholders, but that, in reality, the major shareholders at Seibu actually owned 88 percent of

450-483: The Tokyo area. Seibu Railway had its initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949 but remained under the control of Tsutsumi through Kokudo. Station numbering was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012. Tsutsumi registered Seibu Railway shares owned by Kokudo in the names of various affiliated individuals, often without their permission, so that the true ownership of

480-549: The committee by selecting future chairmen, which effectively prevented his opponents from serving in the position. Tsutsumi's total net worth has been unclear, as it is unknown how much he owned in assets: he almost always refused interviews, and did not permit Seibu spokespeople to reveal company information. When Nagano bid to host the 1998 Winter Olympics , Tsutsumi—then head of the Japan Olympic Committee—used his financial and political influence, as well as

510-456: The company was not readily apparent. Following the death of Tsutsumi in 1964, his third son Yoshiaki Tsutsumi inherited control of Kokudo and continued the practice of falsifying shareholder records. His holdings in Kokudo and Seibu led to his being deemed the "world's richest man" by Forbes magazine for four consecutive years from 1987 to 1990, with estimated net worth of $ 15–20 billion during

540-480: The company with a share of around 15%. Tsutsumi refused to respond to the Cerberus tender offer at the urging of Seibu management. As of June 2017, Seibu's routes total 176.6 km (109.7 mi). They fall into two separate groups. Tokorozawa Station is the crossing point of Ikebukuro Line and Shinjuku Line . Seibu Railway is well known for its bright yellow colored trains. However, more recent trains have

570-449: The company's shares. Such bogus ownership statement is suspected to be illegal falsification. Major shareholders can only get up to 80 percent of a Japanese company's stock to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange . That scandal was originally opened in 2002 in Japan, after which Tsutsumi was ordered by a court out of the company, but he remained in it, although at a much less paid employment. While multiple Seibu employees were involved in

600-518: The current Seibu Railway, effective in September 1945. Tokyu Group president Keita Goto had an intense personal rivalry with Tsutsumi, and unsuccessfully attempted to block both Tsutsumi's takeover of the Musashino Railway and its merger with the Seibu Railway. The former Seibu network based around Shinjuku and the former Musashino network based around Ikebukuro remain operationally separated today. In 1986, Seibu Railway moved its headquarters from

630-585: The height of the Japanese asset bubble . He was arrested on securities fraud charges in March 2005. On December 21, 2005, Seibu Railway was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A reorganization of the group, completed in February 2006, created Seibu Holdings to act as a holding company for both the railway and Prince Hotels . Cerberus Capital Management , an American investment fund, became

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660-472: The largest shareholder in Seibu Holdings with a 29.9% share of the new company. In late 2012 and early 2013, Cerberus proposed that Seibu Railway abolish five non-core lines, along with other restructuring measures throughout the Seibu Holdings group, but management refused to implement these changes. Cerberus then executed a tender offer to increase its stake to 35% as of June 2013, giving Cerberus

690-440: The power to veto shareholder resolutions. Cerberus had aimed to raise its stake to 44%, bringing it closer to an outright majority, but Seibu management engaged in a massive campaign to thwart the tender offer, including advertising within Seibu trains to passengers who owned stock. The East Japan Railway Company and several financial institutions also planned a support scheme to keep Cerberus from acquiring control of Seibu, but it

720-594: The scandal, Tsutsumi was considered the ringleader, as a result of position in the company and his authoritarian management style. On March 3, 2005, Tsutsumi was arrested on suspicion of violation of securities trading law. Tsutsumi pleaded guilty, and on October 27, 2005, the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to 30 months in prison, suspended for 4 years, and a fine of 5 million yen. His suspended sentence expired in October 2009 and he remains indirectly

750-592: The ski runs necessitated the removal of forestry, and the ski runs themselves infringed upon protected land. Also criticized was the financial conflict of interest: many of the businesses in the region were owned by Seibu. For contributions to international ice hockey, Tsutsumi was inducted into the builder category of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1999. The January 17, 2005 edition of The Wall Street Journal made an investigation on Tsutsumi and

780-625: Was acquired in 1921 by the Kawagoe Railway, which had operated a train service between Kokubunji and Kawagoe since 1894; the merged company kept the "Seibu" name and expanded its main line to Takadanobaba, forming what is now known as the Seibu Shinjuku Line. The current Seibu Railway is a product of a 1945 merger between the former Seibu Railway and the Musashino Railway , which was founded in 1912 to operate what

810-562: Was one of Yasujirō's seven children, and spent his childhood in a Tokyo suburb with Tsuneko and his two younger brothers, Yasuhiro and Yuji. When he was around 7 years old, he met his then-14-year-old half-brother Seiji Tsutsumi ; the two were said to have an immediate disdain for each other. Tsutsumi was said to have inherited his father's personality; he claimed to have begun assisting his father's business in elementary school, beginning with simple tasks like holding blueprints. Though his father subjected him to physical discipline, Tsutsumi

840-535: Was said to be his favorite—something that gained him significant corporate and political influence. Tsutsumi graduated from Waseda University in 1957. Tsutsumi made his earliest forays into business as a university student: in 1956, he opened the Karuizawa Skate Center in Nagano . Upon graduating in 1957, he was employed by Kokudo Keikaku Kogyo (later Kokudo Corporation), of which his father

870-400: Was the chairman. In April 1964, Tsutsumi's father Yasujirō died. Despite the disagreement of his widow Masao, the thirty-year-old Yoshiaki Tsutsumi inherited control of the Seibu Corporation. Most observers had expected the designated successor to be his elder half-brother Seiji Tsutsumi , who instead inherited the Seibu department stores. Though Seiji subsequently parlayed these stores into

900-537: Was ultimately not implemented due to a lack of potential financial benefit for the investors. At the June 2013 shareholder meeting, several proposals by Cerberus were voted down, including the election of outside directors and the abolition of non-core lines. As of June 2013 , Yoshiaki Tsutsumi remains a major investor in Seibu Holdings through his 36% investment in NW Corporation, the second-largest shareholder in

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