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The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has urged railway companies to boost security measures following a spate of suspicious fires and accidents on various lines.
At an emergency conference held on Friday, JR companies and private railway companies shared information on train accidents and operational troubles with each other, and exchanged opinions about better preventive measures, TBS reported.
The ministry asked rail operators to be vigilant against copycat arsonists following the spate of at least seven fires on JR lines in Tokyo last month.
Other cases discussed included an accident last month in Fukuoka Prefecture in which a passenger was slightly injured when one of the parts fell off a Sanyo Shinkansen train, and the delays caused by severed cables near Sakuragicho station in Yokohama.
© Japan Today
6 Comments
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edojin
The minister in charge of this ministry always points at others for problems that have arisen under his "leadership." This guy is frustrating to watch. Why doesn't he get his uniform of the day on and get out there on the frontlines in handling this spate of arsons ... and personally overseeing all those accidents.
Disillusioned
Urged? What kind of minister us he? A political or religious minister? Doesn't a political minister create legislation and rules?
kazetsukai
The problem is not who points fingers at whom, because the entire nation, its people has a tendency to do so.
The problem is that within the "peace" and "unprecedented" freedom and luxury, the entire nation is complacent about security as whole. The real problem is that everyone wants and expects someone else to do the job of security.
For the Japanese it is the USA and the SDF to assure security of the nation while the police is "supposed" to assure internal security. The only "threat" they know and understand is the inability of those who fail to do their "expected" job that they can point fingers at, and not the potential threat from outside.
JohnBecker
Um..... no. He oversees a department of the government. Legislation comes from the Diet. "Rules" come from his department, but they aren't enforceable unless there's law to back them up.
SwissToni
It bothers me when ministries simply urge greater safety, it's a way to look active without actually doing anything. Safety will only be taken seriously when legislated for and the rules enforced. The rail companies have virtual monopolies on their services so people cannot vote with their feet and use an alternative. In that situation individuals must be personally, and businesses must be corporately held accountable.
Yubaru
Folks it's the translation, if the Japanese was 催促 (saisoku) it could be translated as urge, but demand is also a translation as well.
One would have to see the Japanese used to understand the article better because "urge" certainly does not sound right for this situation.