On 23 June 1982, Tohoku Shinkansen, the third high-speed rail in Japan, was opened between Omiya and Morioka. Japanese National Railways developed new rolling stock called 200 series. The line was extended to Ueno in 1985 and again to Tokyo in 1991. It was extended further to Shin-Aomori by 2010, and it is now the fastest high-speed rail where trains run at up to 320 km/h (200 MPH).
Omiya, 1 Jul 2022
In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Tohoku Shinkansen, JR East repainted an E2 series trainset white and green imitating the 200 series. It is generally used for Nasuno and Yamabiko services on Tohoku Shinkansen and some rail tours at the weekend. Various different melodies, mostly local folk songs, are played onboard when the train approaches stations it calls at.
Tokyo, 11 Nov 2003
Does that E2 series resembles the genuine 200 series? Not bad, but it is still an imitation so that not 100% identical to the old trains. Since only 10 years have passed since the 200 series retired, not a few people might remember it. But younger people may think it attractive.
15 November this year will mark the 40th anniversary of Joetsu Shinkansen so that the E2 series is highly likely to be used for ceremonies and rail tours. Its schedule can be found on official website after 10 pm everyday.
On 6 and 7 June, London Underground was mostly closed due to strike action. On 21, 23 and 25 June, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (hereinafter referred to as RMT) carried out the largest industrial action in more than three decades, resulting in extremely severe train disruption across England, Scotland and Wales. Many protests have been taken place amid the cost of living crisis, and it is reported that the RMT may conduct further walkouts.
There are mixed views about the latest industrial action, but many Japanese people living in the UK are frustrated by railways, as they are far from punctual and reliable in spite of disproportionately expensive fares, then they faced these events with disappointment. In addition, Japanese people are not familiar with strikes so that they are confused.
Is a strike illegal in Japan today? Of course not, as Article 28 of the Constitution prescribes that "The right of workers to organize and to bargain and act collectively is guaranteed.", and other relevant laws also have provisions about labour rights. Then, isn't there any railway strike in Japan? Not common in these days, but there had been many cases in the past, especially when it comes to Japanese National Railways.
In 1948, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (hereinafter referred to as the SCAP) issued Decree No. 201 that restricts public servants' labour rights. In the previous year, a massive general strike lead by Japanese Communist Party was about to take place, but it was outlawed by the SCAP. To put it simply, the US Government feared that allowing strikes would make Japan a potential ally of the USSR. Thus, the SCAP ordered any industrial action by public entities' staffs be prohibited, and instead established committees for arbitration and mediation.
(One of the most common steam locomotive at that time)
By the early-1950s, it became clear that the arbitration scheme would not work well as the Japanese Government refused a pay rise due to financial difficulties. Trade unions relied on work-to-rule protests from 1952, and the first strike was taken place in 1961. The Decree had already been expired, but still JNR staffs were not allowed to go on a strike. Trade unions declared a "strike for a right to strike". The government and trade unions had negotiations several times, many of which were unsuccessful.
"Strikes for a right to strike" continued for more than a decade. Since there were far fewer services than today, trains were always packed by commuters, many of whom described the congestion as life-threatening, and the industrial action made the situation even worse. On 13 March 1973, the fury of commuters burst at Ageo station on Takasaki line, about 25 miles north of Tokyo. It is called the Ageo Incident, a riot by more than 10,000 local residents and passengers. They destroyed trains and other facilities including signals, and grabbed senior staffs and forced them to walk for a few miles on track. On 24 April 1973, there were similar but larger riots in Tokyo (Riots on JNR Commuter Rail in the Greater Tokyo Area). There is an article of The New York Times on web describing these two cases.
From 26 November to 3 December 1975, the longest industrial action of JNR was taken place. Almost all JNR services – both passenger and freight trains – were cancelled across the country for eight consecutive days. The government acted swiftly, declared emergency in accordance with the Road Transport Vehicle Act, and ordered mobilisation of lorries. The replacement for freight trains was successful and no major logistical issues reported. Most trade unions for private railways did not join the industrial action. The "strikes for a right to strike" strategy ended in failure: according to an opinion poll conducted in 1975, 55% answered that JNR staff should not claim the right to strike, and 72.2% of them said that industrial action was annoying and irritating.
Strike actions had a huge negative impact on JNR. They hampered modernisation of technologies, made productivity worse and resulted in costly business. Other business sectors concluded that JNR was so unreliable that they shifted to road transportation. As the government constructed many motorways, lorries became cheaper, faster and more punctual than freight trains.
In the early-1980s, the Liberal Democratic Party held discussions about privatisation of JNR. The main reason for the privatisation was huge deficits that JNR produces every year, but weakening trade unions was said to be one of its objectives as well. Trade unions resisted violently: on 29 November 1985, National Railway Chiba Motive Power Union (also known as Doro Chiba) and Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (also known as Chukaku-ha, lit. Central Core Faction) destroyed 33 communication cables, signals and power facilities, and 22 lines in the Greater Tokyo Area were suspended. Even with these "efforts", JNR was privatised on 1 April 1987, and split to several companies, which are now called JR.
As JNR was privatised, staffs were no longer a part of public servants, and hence they have been enjoying labour rights without limitation. Even so, like other sectors, railway companies in Japan have been free from strikes in most cases. Companies and trade unions now prefer cooperative approach rather than confrontational one. However, some argues that such a change is responsible for low pay rises for decades, Asahi Shimbun reports.
Kururi line was particularly prone to service suspension.
Doro Chiba is one of few exceptions that carried out strikes until recently. There were walkouts for nine consecutive years until 2010, most of which were held in spring. Even today, the union has been organising various protests in Chiba and Tokyo, one of which was an anti-American and US-Japan alliance demonstration held in the capital when President Biden visited Japan in May. On 29 June, the union issued its latest statement condemning not only Vladimir Putin but also the United States, NATO and the Japanese government. They look active, but they have not held any major strike in recent years.
Since major industrial action resulted in failure and public trust in JNR/JR plummeted, JR companies and unions endeavoured to reconstruct their business by making themselves attractive in the 1990s and 2000s. Nevertheless, the out-of-date cultures of JNR unions still exist in some places. JR Hokkaido Union is accused of too many troubles, such as boycotting safety procedures and health checks and destroying train facilities. The memories of JNR trade unions (and some ongoing troubles) have certainly been affecting the discussions about railways even today. For example, many rural lines in Hokkaido have been closed or about to close, but not a few local governments and residents support permanent closure of these lines and stations, because they do not think it is right to help JR Hokkaido by taxpayers' money, as Diamond pointed out.
JR companies have been free from industrial action for years, but they have not always treated their employees fairly with good working conditions and pay rises. In 2018, East Japan Railway Workers' Union, the largest trade union of JR East, attempted to go on a strike for the first time in more than 30 years. However, it failed again, and it caused a devastating damage on the union itself. As most workers hated the idea of such an action, they denounced the union and withdrew from it. According to Nikkei, the number of Union members dramatically declined from 47,000 in 2018 to just around 5,500 by 2021.
JR companies have been keen to downsizing in recent years, especially after the pandemic began. They have been adopting driver-only operation on various lines including busy commuter rail, and even developing driverless operation in Tokyo and other cities. Trade unions could resist them, but there has been no sign of major action so far.
Private railways unions had been on strikes as well until the 1980s, though not as frequently as those of JNR. Since 1992, almost of all private railway networks have been free from industrial action, but there are a few exceptions. Sotetsu Labor Union is active, lively one compared to others. In 2014, services were cancelled from around 5:00 to 6:30 am. The strike was supposed to last for 24 hours but trains were reinstated minutes before the morning rush hour began. Strikes were also carried out in 2004 and 2009. According to local newspaper Kanagawa Shimbun, commuters and local residents at stations condemned staff and yelled out for compensation, and nobody supported the action.
Okayama Electric Tramway
A few other small private railways, such as Shonan Monorail in Kanagawa Prefecture and Okayama Electric Tramway, have held strikes. In the latter case in 2018, all tram services ran as scheduled, but drivers refused ticket and fare collection for the whole day. But they are exceptional, and even during gradual inflation triggered by post-pandemic recovery and Russian invasion to Ukraine, most unions are likely to concentrate only on negotiation, though not certain if it will pay off.
Industrial action had been common in Japan in the past, but it has been very rare since the 1990s. Memories of severe disruptions have had a significant impact on people's minds so that strikes are not welcomed by most citizens, and it also made some local governments reluctant to help railways. Today, a walkout is unpopular even among railway staffs, and JR East Workers' Union failed to conduct one in 2018. Most other private railways are in the same situation, and therefore it is highly unlikely to see a major industrial action like the one held by the RMT anytime soon in Japan.
Dear followers of Twitter, subscribers and readers of this blog
This blog has been suspended temporarily since 8 June due to the copyright infringement, but I am pleased to announce that the weekly update will be resumed on the next Saturday (1 July, Japanese time). However, many past articles remain unavailable.
Before the suspension, I have written 175 articles in three years with over 800 images. Inserting a new watermark to all photos and editing all articles will surely take weeks and thus it is not feasible. Therefore, I have given up making all articles public once again, and decided instead to reinstate only 12 articles which seem to be important.
I have been inserting a watermark to almost all photos I upload online, and many of you may think that my response to copyright infringement is a little excessive. There is a reason why I take the case very seriously: about two years ago, at least one of my photos was sold by an unknown individual without my permission, and an agent in the United States claimed that THEY had the copyright and effectively blackmailed me. Hence, I had no other option but to defend myself this time.
Images on the blog and The Red List of Trains in Japan now have a logo and URL. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
Dear followers of Twitter, subscribers and readers of this blog
Earlier today, I found a tweet obviously using my photograph without my permission. The photo contained a blue translucent logo I often insert either at the bottom left or right of each image I uploaded online. It clearly constitutes a copyright infringement, and I have sent a tweet directly to the person in question, but no response is made so far.
All photos I upload on this blog, my website and Twitter are my works except very few images which are specifically mentioned in a caption. I have NEVER relinquished the copyrights. I withhold myself at the moment from taking further action against the person in question, such as filing an official complaint to Twitter, Inc. or taking a legal action against him, but note that I always reserve the right to resort to any measures deemed proportionate whenever necessary.
Such a case is not new to me. I have been inserting the logo to deter people from copying images without my permission, and make the photos easy for me to find when uploaded somewhere. With the deepest regret, it now appears that the current logo did not work well so that I have no choice but to take more actions as follows:
This blog will be temporarily closed whilst photos are examined, and they will be covered with another watermark in due course.
Some photos on Twitter may be deleted. Upcoming images will have a watermark of my Twitter ID.
Photos on The Red List of Trains in Japan will have a watermark with the URL of the website, and it takes effect immediately.
I am merely an amateur photographer, but I have already spent more than a decade, spent substantial amount of money and made great effort to take photos, edit them and upload them online with English texts, just like each of you, the kindred minds across the world. I would like to urge once again: do follow rules of copyright, and ask me in advance if you want to use any of my photograph. If you send me a message on Twitter, I would be happy to talk about the photos, and I would send you the original-sized image if necessary.
I regret the decision, and I am fully aware that these measures make photos far less attractive and not a few people may feel it annoying, but I appreciate your understanding.
In 2021, some commuters in Fukuoka and Oita areas felt that something was wrong on a train. They found large spaces next to doors, and they wondered if such spaces existed ever before. Then, they realised that there were less seats than before the pandemic began. Many people accuse JR Kyushu of deteriorating service quality, while a few others defend the company.
The controversial seat removal has been taken place on 813 series, the most common train type in northern Kyushu. Local newspaper Nishinippon Shimbun reported the issue earlier this year, which this blog article mainly relies on. According to the newspaper, up to 40% of seats have been removed from a fleet.
Fewer seats simply means less likely to get a seat, but it also provides standing capacity and leads to more efficient operation. To be specific, a carriage with reduced seats gives 20% more capacity in total. In that case, a nine-car train can be shortened to eight or seven coaches while the overall capacity remains unchanged, and it must be an attractive option for JR Kyushu amid a decline in revenue caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
(This is what was supposed to be)
It might satisfy the company, but many commuters and students are discontented with the seat reduction. They mourn that they can no longer take a seat on a stressful journey to and from their workplaces or schools. It is also said that the train has got colder in winter than before, as JR Kyushu removed heaters under the seats. Meanwhile, a few others insist that wheelchair and pram users feel easier to be on a train than before.
Many people condemn the reduction and suspect that JR Kyushu just wants to cut expenditures by reducing the number of carriages. However, the company contends the view, and argues that the seat removal was necessary to allow smoother boarding and alighting especially during rush hours. Unlike commuters and students in other major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, those in Fukuoka have been notorious for behaving badly on a train, as most people always stand in front of doors and never move down inside the train. The sticker above reads "do not sit on a floor", which is very rare outside Kyushu as it is a well-known unwritten norm.
JR Kyushu is going to reduce seats on 153 out of 246 carriages of the 813 series by September 2022. The company will also enhance heater capability to keep the trains warm enough in winter.
JR Kyushu has been criticised that their services are getting inconvenient in recent years, and the seat reduction is unpopular among many passengers. However, it must not be forgotten that passengers are partly responsible for it, and they should learn from commuters in Tokyo and Osaka.
