Chapter　4.　Technological Development

4. 1　Present Situation of Technological Development

(1) Overview

(a)	Ship Sector Ice-breaking vessel and nuclear energy-related technologies are under development.
(b)	Port and Harbor Sector New construction engineering technologies are being developed and tested under rigorous conditions, including great depth of water, great waves and feeble ground.
(c)	Railway Sector JNR has been pushing for the development of linear motor cars since 1962. In 1983 a two-coach linear motor car was successfully test-run at a speed of 305 kilometers an hour.
(d)	Automobile Sector Energy-saving technologies involving ceramic engines, turbo-chargers and variable cylinder engines, and safety and public hazard prevention technologies are under development.
(e)	Aviation Sector Technologies concerning an aircraft collision prevention system, a microwave landing aid system, and precise visual approach slope indicator system have been developed or planned to be developed,
(f)	Maritime Safety Sector The development of technologies designed to receive ocean data via stationary satellites is under way.

(2) Acceleration of Development of General Technologies
　 　Sophistication, diversification and increasing complexity of demands for technological development have added to the importance of developing general technologies. In fiscal 1983 "experiments with aid in navigation by use of satellites" (Fig. 5) were launched with a view to developing techniques of communicating with and measuring the positions of aircraft flying over the sea and ships, by use of satellites, while the development of "highly reliable intelligence ships" was started with an eye to enabling the nation's shipbuilding industry to shift to more advanced nation-type industry, through introduction of advanced technologies.

4. 2　Progress of Information System

　 　The transportation industry has introduced a wide variety of information systems since long ago.
　 　In recent years transport service operators have become much more interested in new media. For example, trucking service operators have made inroads into VAN (value added network) services. Besides, moves for major private railway companies to go into urban-type CATV business have come to the fore.