THE governors of 29 of Japan’s 47 prefectures recently met with prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, to request support for secondary lines. They submitted a special motion that asked the government to consider the problems facing secondary routes, including the possibility of closure, pointing out that "local lines support public transport in rural areas, and the closure of even a small part of the network could lead to the decline of local communities."
The motion described the national network as "social infrastructure that should be secured fairly and stably throughout the country and plays an important role in regional regeneration." It also noted that the railway plays an important role in freight transport and as an alternative in the event of natural disasters such as major earthquakes.
The governors make four specific demands from the government:
- clarify the position of the railway network in the context of the country's future development
- demonstrate how Japanese railways will support the maintenance of local lines
- support the efforts of prefectures, municipalities, and regions to promote the use of local lines, and
- provide further support for the early reopening of partially-closed lines and to instruct railways to avoid entering into debates on the future of individual lines, especially where closure has been proposed.
The motion was presented to the prime minister on behalf of the prefectures by four governors: Morikazu Abe from Nagano, Shinji Hirai from Tottori, Hidehiko Yuzaki from Hiroshima and Tsugumasa Muraoka from Yamaguchi.
In response, the prime minister said “railways are only worthwhile if they are interconnected," adding that he intends to establish a forum where the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the governors could meet to discuss the issues they have raised.
