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(1) Basic Concept of Reconstruction The National Railways should attach importance as before to inter-city passenger transport, passenger transport in large city areas and medium - long distance mass cargo transport in the transport system of Japan. The National Railways as a whole including other fields should aim at self-supported management oriented to self-paying system. Fundamentally, the reconstruction of the National Railways should be nothing but to establish a management system responsible for the people. For the purpose, the labor and management relation should be normalized as quickly as possible. The management of the National Railways is to be renewed (1) by establishing a responsible service system and strict worker codes and (2) by fundamentally reforming the organizations and the personnel system in general etc.
(2) Financial Reconstruction of the National Railways The financial reconstruction of the National Railways aims to recover the balance of income and expenditure within two Years (fiscal 1976 and fiscal 1977) and to maintain sound management after these two years. To recover the balance of income and expenditure, some of the liabilities in the past are to be suspended and fare revisions are to made in fiscal 1976 to increase the actual income by 37% (the nominal income by 50%). The measures to maintain sound management include worker rationalization, management rationalization in deficit provincial lines and cargo transport etc., the sales of assets, the planned promotion of increasing income in incidental business, a study to give more flexibility to fare revision procedures and the in- crease of efficiency of equipment investments.
ln compliance with this prospectus, the Government decided to suspend the liabilities in the past, to decrease the burden of construction expenses, to provide aids for a part of the operating expenses of provincial lines. The aids in these forms are to amount to 359.4 billion yen (increase of 99.1 billion yen from the preceding fiscal year). The Government also submitted ''the Bill of Partial Revisions of the Japanese National Railways Fare Act and the Japanese National Railways Act''at the 77th session of the Diet. It was carried over to the next session and was passed at the 78th session.
The legislation of the Bill was delayed when it was essential for the enforcement
of the new reconstruction measures. As a result, the fare revision was effected
on Nov. 6, more than five months after the initially scheduled date. The National
Railways has coped with the income loss during this period amounting to 270
billion yen by gradually suppressing expenses. This gave serious effects to
related enterprises and passenger services.
Thus, the delay of the legislation brought about serious effects. However,
the Bill was finally passed and a large one step was taken toward the reconstruction
of the National Railways. It will be necessary to make efforts for minimizing
the effects of the delay and to promote the recon struction steadily according
to the initially planned frame. Although concrete measures have been set force
for the basic plan of reconstruction, many problems of cargo transport, deficit
local lines, worker rationalization and fare revisions etc. remain to be studied
in the future. More and more efforts will have to be made by the people concerned.
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