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This book is summary of the Annual Report on the Transport Economy (the
White Paper on Transport) for fiscal 1990.
The Japanese economy, which has continued to expand since passing its trough
in November 1986, is now achieving growth which is almost comparable to the
longest postwar "Izanagi Boom" in the latter half of the 1960s. However, the
growth rate of Japan's working population is likely to decelerate after the
latter half of the 1990s, while the rate of saving is expected to dip in the
early 21st century due to the aging of the population. The 1990s, therefore,
can be regarded as an important period for the formation of social overhead
capital, supported by the high rate of saving.
Given these factors, it is considered significantly important, in ushering
in the 1990s, to look back on the past improvement of transport-related social
overhead capital and to make clear, at the same time, basic problems involving
the improvement of transport-related social overhead capital in terms of a physical
bedrock for transportation over the past 10 years. Again, in the transport industry,
Labor shortages are currently acute centering around distribution-related types
of industry, and, in particular, it has become extremely difficult to secure
young manpower. Therefore, we would also like to discuss how to secure workforce
in terms of human infrastructures, in order to secure a stable transportation
capacity to counter predicted progressive aging.
In Part 1 "Transport Looking Ahead to the 21st Century " which is equivalent
to an outline, this report analyzes and categorizes transport problems in the
1990s and clarifies, at the same time, the future direction of transport by
focusing on problems such as the improvement of transport-related social overhead
capital and labor short-ages in the transportation industry.
In Part 2,"Outline of Transport," the report refers to the present situation,
the contents of measures and points at issue in various administrative fields,
encompassing trends in transport, international cooperation, the privatization
of the Japanese National Railways, passenger transport, the distribution of
goods, and ocean-going shipping, shipbuilding, aviation, tourism and recreation,
environmental countermeasures, and traffic safety countermeasures.
We hope that this booklet is helpful to those interested in transport in
Japan.
Terumasa Koyanagi
Director-General of the Research and Data
Processing Department,
Transport Policy Bureau,
Ministry of Transport
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