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On April l, 1987, six passenger railway companies and Japan Freight Railway
Company were inaugurated as the Japanese National Railways (JNR) was split up.
These new companies are steadily realizing the objectives of JNR's reform.
First of all, each of them is striving to reinforce its management foundation.
(Table 2) In an attempt to continue
sound and energetic management through appropriate business administration and
activities geared to local needs, the companies are taking steps to maintain
and secure transport demand, reinforce sales activities, achieve more efficient
operation and save expenses. They are also exploiting and running new business
related to railways.
Secondly, the companies are doing their best to guarantee safety of passengers,
the prime mission of all means of transportation.
Thirdly, they are making efforts every day to improve service and transport
facilities so that they may give top priority to the welfare of passengers and
provide users with better service.
And finally, the companies are attempting to reform the consciousness of
their employees through corporate identity (CI) activities.
Besides those efforts mentioned above, the companies are also working to
foster a good corporate image and promote improvement of railway facilities
helpful to a better transport service and greater earning power. It is difficult
to judge the effect of these steps at this moment, but in general, these companies
have done well in their management.
The total handling revenue of the companies for April to September 1987 increased
by 5.2% over same six months of 1986, which was a favorable growth. The Freight
Railway Company suffered a decline of 13.6% from 1986 in its handling revenue,
and this was the outcome of the drastic rationalization of the Company's schedules,
mainly those for wagon load, made in November 1986.
(Fig. 9)
A number of problems to be solved remain for these companies, however: measures
for local deficit-ridden lines and separation of bus business are among them.
The companies should positively grapple with these questions in the future.
There are two important problems which remain after JNR was reorganized:
disposal of long-term debts and reemployment of former JNR employees. These
questions are to be handled by the Japanese National Railways Settlement Corporation
(JNRSC).
(1) The long-term debts which remain unsettled after the financial resources
of JNRSC have been applied to repayment will ultimately be settled by the government
funds. New financial resources and measures required for full-scale settlement
of these debts will be examined and determined in consideration of the review
of the government's entire revenues and expenditures.
Principal financial resources of JNRSC available for the settlement of the
long-term debts are the land owned by former JNR. This land will be sold by,
as a general rule, competitive bidding. In selling the land, appropriate steps
will be taken in consideration of measures for land prices. (Table
3)
(2) The problem of re-employment of former JNR employees has been favorably
settled. As of April 1, 1987, the number of these employees whose new job was
not found was reduced to 7,630. By November l, 1987, the figure further dropped
to 5,430 partly because the new companies offered additional employment to these
people. Many of the people who have not obtained new job yet are residents in
Hokkaido and Kyushu, where employment situation has been unfavorable. In the
years to come, more careful measures should be taken for these people, including
encouragement of their employment in other regions of the country.
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