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With the 21st century close at hand, Japan is having a closer relationship
with the international community in terms of both daily life and industry.
The number of people traveling abroad has sharply increased, and foreign
products and customs have penetrated into the lifestyle of the Japanese people.
In industry, as the volume of trade increases, the trade structure is changing:
more value is added to exports due to the stronger yen and more products are
imported.
The Japanese transportation system has largely helped to develop such an
exchange of people and goods. However, in promoting smooth international exchange
which is expected to further expand, there are still many problems which should
be addressed.
Regarding the infrastructure for international exchange, Japanese airports
are inadequate to meet the present and future international aviation needs.
It has become an urgent problem to enhance the "hub" airport functions. As for
ports and harbours, as the neighboring countries continue to construct large-scale
facilities, the services provided by Japanese harbours are getting less competitive
compared with other countries.
Meanwhile, as the appreciation of the yen continues, Japanese air carriers
and shipping enterprises are losing their competitiveness, and for a long time
the share of passengers and freight carried by Japanese enterprises has been
decreasing. Thus, these enterprises are operating in a very tough climate.
Regarding tourism, while more Japanese people are traveling abroad, less
foreigners are coming to Japan because of higher travel expenses due to strong
yen. In addition, domestic. tourism is also generally facing a difficult situation,
as the growth rate tends to be sluggish.
To solve these problems effectively from the root while coexisting with
the international community, it is necessary to improve the services (hardware
and software) provided by the airports and harbours and the transport services
offered by Japanese enterprises, so that these services can be internationally
competitive. It is also important to expand the two-way tourist exchange, with
the gap widening between the number of Japanese going abroad and the number
of foreigners coming to Japan. At the same time, to raise the economic strength
of the whole of Asia, international cooperation should be further promoted in
the field of transportation.
In consideration of these problems, this report takes up the theme, "Japan
in the International Society -- Role of Transportation --" in Part 1.
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