Only ten days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, Japan opened its Tokaido Shinkansen, a high-speed road line connecting Tokyo with Osaka. Shinkansen bullet trains, which could travel at up to 285 km/h ( 177 mph ), showed the high caliber of Japanese railway technology to the rest of the world.
Every hour, more than ten carriages leave from Tokyo, and the wait is only slightly shorter than that in other nations like the UK. Thus far, Japan’s bullet trains have even recorded zero customer mortality in their 60 years of operation.
The reliability, reliability and security of Japanese railroads have reinforced the nation ’s identification as a self-professed railway systems power.
But, Japan’s Shinkansen is a self-contained rail system designed to become isolated from the regular rail network. For instance, the program is a dedicated high-speed column with a wider monitor than the rest of the system.
This means that the gun train’s good status, which has been nurtured over centuries, is predicated on it being a solo job.
Ironically, Chinese manufacturers have developed a high level of technical expertise, but their abilities are being honed as they struggle to adjust to the global railway market.
In late 2023, Japan expressed its reticence to meet Indonesia’s US$ 7. Concerns about technical compatibility and potential damage to its “brand ” are raised by the$ 3 billion high-speed rail project. ” As a result, Indonesia picked China to construct the rail instead. China even made an offer to complete it more quickly and in less time.
According to my own study, local pride and confidence will turn into trepidation as Chinese railway expertise persists in battling foreign competitors and fails to win agreements.
The Japanese knowledge
Japan has successfully exported its “high value ” rail network to Taiwan, India, Europe and the UK in the past. However, Japan’s decision to export gun teach technology to Taiwan in the late 1990s and shortly 2000s is still a cautionary tale.
After many political squabbling, the Japanese high-speed railroad, a 350km line that runs along the country’s west coast, was the product of a mix of Western and Japanese systems.
The Japanese engineers were concerned that the Shinkansen technology’s need for European paths, which the Japanese engineers did n’t anticipate, would cause their bullet trains to travel on European tracks.
If anything were to go wrong when the Asian and German designs were merged, the bullet train’s global reputation would suffer.
Fortunately, everything has gone bad. However, this season demonstrates how meticulously Japanese engineers work to sell shot train technology as a complete package.
This is an illustration of what is known as the” Galapagos Syndrome,” a metaphor for goods and services that have been developed with an emphasis on a single sector or culture, making them unique from the rest of the world. The gun train’s popularity is based on its ability to blend with non-Japanese technology.
Another aspect of Chinese railway expertise was highlighted by the Taiwan experience, which revealed that Japanese manufacturers lack the necessary expertise to engage in a global market where the combination of technology from various nations is common.
Potential hazards
The Chinese government has just announced that it will support a bid from Chinese businesses to bring technology and expertise from underground railroads to the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean nation intends to expand its underground railroad program, focusing primarily in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital.
Given Japan’s prior experience with swift mass transit systems, Japan’s presence makes sense. This sort of method currently operates in big Chinese cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Fukuoka. There is a chance, however, that the Chinese system will continue to be inconsistent with what is offered on the global market.
When the period comes for renewal, the operator may be stuck with Chinese technology unless the Chinese system is appropriate worldwide. Then, they will need to locate a non-Japanese provider who will be able to integrate their technology into the Chinese system.
This position is evocative of Taiwan’s new challenge to maintain its high-speed trains.
The initial carriages, which Japan sold to Taiwan, are currently in need of repair. Additionally, the Japanese operator had to choose between purchasing brand-new trains from European or Chinese manufacturers.
While purchasing Western rolling stock may result in the higher complexity of having a mingled fleet, purchasing fresh trains from Japan meant paying for additional costs. The Chinese operator ultimately decided to buy new trainsets from Hitachi and Toshiba, the Japanese companies.
Japan’s self-image is based on the idea that its systems is the best in the world. However, the global marketplace also has a lot to learn about Japan’s government and railway industry. Chinese optimism and anxiety will have to coexist for the time being.
Taku Tamaki is Lecturer in International Relations, Loughborough University
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