| 3. Passenger Travel Between
Regions Transportation between regions supports mutual exchanges and ties, and also plays an indispensable role in bringing the nation together and helping regions achieve independence and development. Inter-regional passenger travel has shown expansion that will eventually lead it to surpass intra-regional travel. The distance passenger travel as a whole has grown remarkably, and this trend is likely to continue in the early stages of the 21st century. Although travel within the three main metropolitan areas continues to constitute the bulk of this travel, the expansion of travel within rural areas is gradually progressing. The main road network has been brought up to scratch to accommodate the expansion and change in demand for travel, and the "National One Day Travel Zone" -all of the areas from which a person can travel to any other place within Japan during one day by exchanging various means of transport-is also showing steady growth. |
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The Proportion of the Population
That Can Travel to Any Part of Japan Within A Single Day (National average)
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| Consequently, with regard to future inter-regional passenger travel in Japan, it is necessary, in addition to responding to the essential demands of the three main metropolitan areas, to give due consideration to responses for comparatively distributed demand resulting from diversity. It is also important to upgrade service levels to meet the growing demands of citizens for faster travel and the construction and utilization of a transportation infrastructure that takes the characteristics of transport facilities into consideration. |
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The Percentage Share of Various Modes of Transport For Trips According
to Distance Traveled
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The Changes in the Number of Trips Made Per Person Per Year |
 Source: Ministry of Transport "Survey regarding the flow of passenger between regions" |
 Source: Ministry of Transport "Survey regarding the flow of passenger between regions" |
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| As a result of the large increase in the number of trips made by car, the number of trips taken in regions outside the three main metropolitan areas has soared. |
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The Proportion of the Population That Can Travel to Any Part of Japan Within a Single Day(As of 1998) |
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| Source: Documents and source materials from the National Land Agency |
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