Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan
Acknowledgements

My original plan to conduct research about the shinkansen dates back more than12 years. However, the formal fieldwork for this book started about five years ago with my first visit JR Tōkai. Without the co-operation of the various companies and organizations I have visited, this research would not have been possible. Consequently I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that were so helpful in allowing me to visit their facilities, observe their operations and interview their staff. In particular I would like to thank Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai), East Japan Railway Company (JR East), West Japan Railway Company (JR West), Kyūshū Railway Company (JR Kyūshū), the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), the East Japan Railway Company Foundation, Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), Hokkaidō Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō), Japan Railway Technical Service (JARTS) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT). I wish that I could list the over 200 people from these and other organizations that I have interviewed for this research, but space does not permit it. However, I would like to thank all those that I did interview, and would like to mention a few individuals from the above companies and organizations who have helped to plan visits or to answer my many questions on a number of occasions during the past few years – Kondō Kunihiro, Morimura Tsutomu, Morishita Tatsushi (JR Tōkai); Yokoo Takeshi (JR East); Kosuga Ken’ichi (JR West); Yoshida Sayako and Suyama Yōko (JR Kyūshū); Shimizu Kenji (JRTT); Oiyama Tatsuya (JARTS); Yamada Kōji (JR Hokkaidō). I would also like to thank Sekiguchi Masao (JR East) for allowing me to drive a train at the JR East General Education Centre.

There are also various other companies and organizations that I have visited over the past few years or who have provided information whom I would like to thank; All Nippon Airways, Aomori Prefectural Government, First Great Western, Fullers Brewers, Hitachi, Hokkaidō Prefectural Government, Japan Airlines, Kagoshima Prefectural Government, Komoro City Government, Nippon Sharyō, Sanrio, Shinjō City Government, the Taiwan High Speed Railway Corporation (THSRC), and Yamagata Prefectural Government. I would also like to thank NHK, who helped me to see the fortieth anniversary ceremony from such a good location.

There are numerous individuals, some of whom I met at companies mentioned above, I would like to thank for providing information and support of various kinds; Aoki Kunio (East Japan Railway Culture Foundation), Geoffrey Bownas, Phil Deans (SOAS, London University), Dave Fossett, Steve Hubbard, Isomura Yōji (formerly at JR East), Eddy Jones, Kawashima Ryōzō, Kay Kondō (Chiba University of Commerce), Mizutani Fumitoshi (Kōbe University), Miyawaki Hideo (Kyōdo News), Mutō Hisashi (formerly at Kokurō), Nakano Tsuneo (Kōbe University), Nakaoka Nozomu, Nakasone Yasuhiro, Naitō Hiroshi, Nishio Gentarow, Emmanuel Ogbonna (Cardiff University), Andrew Potter (who me allowed to sit in on his lectures at Cardiff University to learn about railway economics and how British railways are supposedly run), Christopher and Phillida Purvis, Shima Takashi, Shōji Ken’ichi (Kōbe University), Sogō Shinsaku, Rod Smith (Imperial College, London), Sudō Hiroshi (University of Kitakyūshū), Suga Tatsuhiko (formerly at East Japan Railway Culture Foundation), Tabata Hirokuni (Tōkyō University), Takahashi Kin (Japanese Trade Union Federation), Tanaka Shigeru, Yamana Norio (Ministry of Finance), Yasubuchi Seiji (UBS) and Wada Shigeru (International Transport Workers’ Union).

I would also like to thank all those that have helped me to develop this research in other ways – either by providing a forum for me to present my research to date, by asking questions, or by merely passing on their enthusiasm. In particular I would like to thank the active members of the jtrains discussion group (especially Dave Fossett, Martin Guest, Naitō Hiroshi, Doug Coster, Mitch Sako, Norman Simpson and Dick Harris), the Japanese Railway Society (especially Anthony Robins, Oliver Mayer, Richard Tremaine and Bill Pearce), Chatham House’s Japan Discussion Group members, and the Japan Society. Also thanks to the huge number of anonymous people who have contributed to this work through casual conversations and being there for me to observe. I would also like to thank the publishers, Routledge, and particularly Peter Sowden, for their support of this research as a whole and for allowing me to include so many photographs, which form an integral part of the study.

I would also like to thank the staff at the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre – David Williams, Rosemary Smith, Yuri Kyōko, Kudara Masakazu, and Jan Richards – and also Roger Mansfield of the Cardiff Business School for their support over the past few years. A particular word of thanks also to David Williams and Dave Fossett for reading through drafts of this book at short notice and offering their suggestions. Also a big thank you to Keith Haines and Robert Rigby at Japan Airlines, who over the years have helped to ensure that my fear of flying became a little bit more bearable and allowed me to travel in comfort on many an occasion between London and Japan.

I would also like to thank the various companies and organizations that have helped me pursue this research through the provision of funding; Cardiff Business School, the Japan Foundation Endowment Committee, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Airlines, and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.

I would like to thank all my family and friends who helped to keep me going. Special thanks go to my parents and my uncle Robin, who have inspired me on many occasions to pursue my studies. Thanks also to my mother-in-law, Teresa, and sister-in-law, Kit, for their support. Many thanks to all those who either provided me with their views on the shinkansen, Japanese society and/or a roof over my head during my many trips to Japan – especially the Gotoh family, Tanaka family, Tanabe family, Funatsu Suguru, Antony Hathaway, Iwashita Yōko, Eddy Jones, Kinoshita Midori, Kishi Kanako, Matsunaga Eri, Steve and Mitsuyo Ryles, Sekine Yukio, Sekiya Junko, Tsurumoto Wakako, the Wada family, and Yamada Masaaki and family. Finally a special word of thanks to my wife, Man Yee, and my daughter, Miella (who is too young to remember her first trips on shinkansen and has provided many sleepless nights and challenges to my research schedule) – you both fill up my senses.

The preface and acknowledgements section to the book were written while on-board Hikari 313, 40 years to the day since the shinkansen first began passenger services.


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