Japanese National Railways

Japanese: 日本国有鉄道 - にほんこくゆうてつどう

A public corporation that handled the national railways, railway ferries, automobile transportation, etc. Abbreviated as JNR. In 1987, it was divided and privatized into eight companies: six passenger railway companies (Hokkaido, East Japan, Central Japan, West Japan, Shikoku, and Kyushu), Japan Freight Railway Company, and Shinkansen Railway Holding Corporation.

[Oshima Totaro and Harada Katsumasa]

history

Japan's railway was opened between Shinbashi and Yokohama in 1872 (Meiji 5) under the government-established and -operated system. After that, private railways developed due to a lack of government funds, but under the principle that "all railways used for general transportation shall be owned by the state, except that railways used for local transportation shall not be owned by the state" (Article 1 of the National Railways Law), 17 major private railways were nationalized between 1907 and 1908 (Meiji 40-41), and a special account was established, establishing the foundations of the Japanese National Railways. After World War I, there was a conflict between the reformism of Goto Shinpei and others, which meant strengthening trunk line transportation capacity, and the construction-first approach of Hara Takashi and the Rikken Seiyukai Party, which aimed to strengthen the party base, and the latter in particular was the cause of the railway interests issue. After the Second World War, the JNR was shaken by huge deficits caused by escalating inflation and labor problems, and with the intervention of the occupying forces, the JNR was separated from the Ministry of Transport in 1949 (Showa 24) under the Japanese National Railways Act (Act No. 256 of 1948), and transferred to a public corporation, the "Japanese National Railways." The accounting system was modernized to be on par with other companies, and an independent accounting system was adopted, but government regulations were strict and management autonomy was not realized.

The rapid economic growth that began in the latter half of the 1950s led to an unprecedented increase in both passenger and freight traffic. In response, JNR began a long-term construction plan in 1957. As a result, the modernization of power sources (electrification and dieselization) progressed, but the expansion of tracks (single-track to double-track, double-track to quadruple-track), which fundamentally limited transport capacity, was delayed. In addition, the large-scale revision of the timetable in 1961 (blank revision) was centered on increasing the number of express passenger trains, so freight transport stalled and it became difficult to respond to the dramatic development of truck transport. In October 1964, the Shinkansen opened between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, and its technology amazed railway officials around the world. Since this section is said to be rare in the world for the amount of passenger and freight traffic, the opening of the Shinkansen marked a groundbreaking increase in transport capacity, increased profits, and contributed greatly to JNR's finances. However, as the jet age began and airports were built in many prefectural capitals, passengers using JNR's limited express trains also began to use airplanes. As a result, the Tokyo-Sapporo route became overwhelmingly air travel, and even the Shinkansen could not attract air travellers back to rail travel between Tokyo and Fukuoka. This decline in JNR's share of transportation, or crisis, became the basis for JNR's financial problems.

[Oshima Totaro and Harada Katsumasa]

Business Performance

JNR's operating balance has been in the red since fiscal 1964, and in fiscal 1985, operating income was 3.5528 trillion yen, while operating expenses were 5.5728 trillion yen. Even with non-operating profits, the deficit was 1.8478 trillion yen, and the carried-forward deficit reached 8.801 trillion yen. Among the expenditures were (1) undercapitalization (456 billion yen) due to no capital increase, long-term debt for the construction of the Shinkansen and the modernization of power sources amounted to 18.2408 trillion yen, and interest paid, including other debts, was a huge 1.2408 trillion yen in fiscal 1985, (2) an increase in retirement benefits and grants to mutual aid associations (pensions), which could be said to be the result of a unique personnel structure (the company accepted a large number of repatriates after the war, and these people are now reaching retirement age), and (3) fare discounts as a public burden, all of which are so-called "structural deficits."

At the end of the JNR era, in fiscal 1985, the total commercial kilometres were 20,789 kilometres by rail, 12,535 kilometres by car, and 132 kilometres by rail ferry. The transport volume in fiscal 1985 was 197.4 billion passenger kilometres and 21.6 billion ton-kilometers of freight.

[Oshima Totaro and Harada Katsumasa]

Reconstruction of business

This situation made the issue of restructuring management increasingly pressing, and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro set out the division and privatization of JNR as a key pillar of administrative reform. In November 1986, an extraordinary Diet session passed laws related to the JNR reform, which were promulgated in December. As a result of these laws, JNR, which had a history of over 110 years, was divided and privatized in April 1987, and the JR Group was formed, including six passenger railway companies (Hokkaido, East Japan, Central Japan, West Japan, Shikoku, and Kyushu), the Shinkansen Railway Holding Corporation (which owned all of the Shinkansen facilities and leased them to the three passenger railway companies on Honshu), and the Japan Freight Railway Company. The Shinkansen Railway Holding Corporation was subsequently dissolved in 1992, as all of the Shinkansen facilities had been purchased by the three JR companies on Honshu.

The biggest problems in the JNR reform are the disposal of debts and personnel issues. Of the total debt of 37.5 trillion yen, including those that were in separate accounts, 14.5 trillion yen will be taken over by the three passenger railway companies in Honshu, but of the remaining 23 trillion yen, 7.7 trillion yen will be disposed of by selling off the vast amount of former JNR land scattered throughout the country, and the remaining 14.5 trillion yen will be borne by the public. As for personnel issues, the number of employees in 1986 was 276,000, but the number accepted by the new companies was rationalized to 215,000, so a net 61,000 people left JNR. The JNR Workers' Union, which was the mainstay of Japan's labor movement, was also torn apart over this issue. Even after JNR was replaced by JR, the union has continued its activities without changing its name, but its membership has dropped significantly.

[Oshima Totaro and Harada Katsumasa]

"Jurist Special Issue General Feature 31: National Railways - Public Enterprises and Public Transport" (1983, Yuhikaku) ▽ "Japan National Railways Reconstruction Supervisory Committee Supervised: National Railways Reform: Toward Opening the Future of Railways" (1985, Japan Transport Promotion Association) ▽ "Economic Review Special Issue: Considering the Reconstruction of National Railways" (1985, Nippon Hyoronsha) ▽ "Was the Privatization of National Railways Successful?" by Otani Ken (1997, Asahi Shimbun) ▽ "Japan National Railways Compiled: A Centennial History of the Japanese National Railways, Reprint Edition, Complete 19 Volumes (1998, Seizando Shoten)" ▽ "Japan's National Railways" by Harada Katsumasa (Iwanami Shinsho)

[References] | JNR Workers Union | National Railways | JR [Chronology] | History of the Japanese National Railways (Chronology)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

国有鉄道および鉄道連絡船、自動車などの運送にあたっていた公共企業体。略称国鉄。英語標記Japanese National Railways（JNR）。1987年（昭和62）、分割・民営化され、北海道、東日本、東海、西日本、四国、九州の6旅客鉄道株式会社と日本貨物鉄道株式会社、新幹線鉄道保有機構の8社となった。

［大島藤太郎・原田勝正］

歴史

日本の鉄道は官設官営方式によって1872年（明治5）新橋―横浜間に開通した。その後政府の財政資金の不足により私設鉄道が発達したが、「一般運送ノ用ニ供スル鉄道ハ総(すべ)テ国ノ所有トス但(ただ)シ一地方ノ交通ヲ目的トスル鉄道ハ此(こ)ノ限ニ在(あ)ラス」（鉄道国有法1条）の原則の下に、1907～08年（明治40～41）にかけて主要私鉄17社を国有化し、特別会計を設置して国鉄の基礎が確立した。第一次世界大戦後、後藤新平らの改良主義＝幹線輸送力強化主義と、原敬(たかし)ら立憲政友会による政党基盤強化のための建設優先主義とが対立し、とくに後者は鉄道利権問題の原因をつくった。第二次世界大戦後、国鉄はインフレの激化による膨大な赤字と労働問題に揺れ、占領軍の介入によって日本国有鉄道法（昭和23年法律256号）により1949年（昭和24）その経営を当時の運輸省から分離し、公共企業体「日本国有鉄道」に移行した。会計制度などは一般企業並みに近代化し、独立採算制が採用されたが、政府による規制は厳しく、経営の自主性は実現しなかった。

　1950年代の後半から始まる高度経済成長による輸送量の増加は、旅客、貨物とも未曽有(みぞう)のものであった。これに応じて国鉄は1957年から長期建設計画を発足させた。この結果、動力の近代化（電化、ディーゼル化）は進展したが、輸送力を根本的に制約する線路の増設（単線の複線化、複線の複々線化）が遅れた。加えて1961年のダイヤの大規模な改正（白紙改正）は特急旅客列車の増発が中心であったため、貨物輸送は行き詰まり、トラック輸送の飛躍的な発展に対応することが困難となった。1964年10月、東京―新大阪間に新幹線が開通し、その技術は世界の鉄道関係者を驚かせた。同区間は世界にもまれだといわれるほど旅客、貨物の往来の激しい区間なので、新幹線の開通は画期的な輸送力の増強となり、収益は増大し、経営的にも国鉄財政に大きく寄与していった。ところが航空機はジェット機の時代に入り、また地方の県庁所在地の多くに空港が建設されるようになったので、国鉄の特急利用客も飛行機に移行した。このため東京―札幌間は圧倒的に飛行機の分野となり、東京―福岡間は新幹線をもってしても飛行機の乗客を鉄道に引き戻すことはできなかった。こうした国鉄輸送のシェア低落＝危機を土台として、国鉄財政の問題が膨らんだ。

［大島藤太郎・原田勝正］

経営実績

国鉄の経営収支は1964年度以降赤字となり、85年度は3兆5528億円の営業収入に対して、営業経費は5兆5728億円で、営業外の利益を加えても1兆8478億円の赤字となり、繰越欠損金は8兆8010億円に達した。支出のなかには、(1)増資をしなかったため資本金が過少（4560億円）で、新幹線の建設や動力の近代化などのための長期負債が18兆2408億円となり、その他の負債を含めて支払利子は1985年度1兆2408億円の巨額となり、(2)特殊な人員構成（敗戦後に大量の引揚者を受け入れ、これらの人々が退職時期に入った）の結末ともいうべき退職金や共済組合（年金）への交付金の増加、(3)公共負担としての運賃割引など、いわゆる「構造的赤字」といわれるものがある。

　なお国鉄時代末期の1985年度末の営業キロは鉄道2万0789キロ、自動車1万2535キロ、鉄道連絡船132キロ、85年度の輸送量は旅客1974億人キロ、貨物216億トンキロであった。

［大島藤太郎・原田勝正］

経営の再建

こうした状態から経営の再建問題が逼迫(ひっぱく)し、中曽根康弘(なかそねやすひろ)内閣は「行政改革」の重要な柱として国鉄の「分割・民営」を打ち出し、1986年11月の臨時国会において国鉄改革関連法が成立し、12月公布された。これらの法律により1987年4月、110年を超える歴史をもつ国鉄は分割・民営化され、北海道、東日本、東海、西日本、四国、九州の6旅客鉄道株式会社と、新幹線鉄道保有機構（新幹線の施設を一括して保有し、本州の3旅客鉄道会社に貸し付ける）、日本貨物鉄道株式会社などJRグループが発足した。その後、新幹線鉄道保有機構は、新幹線施設がすべて本州JR3社に買い取られたため、1992年（平成4）解散した。

　国鉄改革の最大の問題は債務の処理と要員問題である。別勘定となっていたものを加えた債務総額37.5兆円のうち14.5兆円は本州の3旅客鉄道会社が引き継ぐが、残りの23兆円のうち7.7兆円は全国に散在する膨大な旧国鉄用地を売却して処理し、14.5兆円は国民負担とされている。また要員問題では、1986年度の職員数は27.6万人であるが、新会社の受け入れ数は21.5万人に合理化されたので、差し引き6.1万人が国鉄を離れることになった。また、この問題をめぐって、日本の労働運動の大黒柱であった国鉄労働組合は四分五裂の状態となった。国鉄がJRにかわったのちも名称をかえずに活動を続けているが、組合員は大幅に減少した。

［大島藤太郎・原田勝正］

『『ジュリスト増刊総合特集31　国鉄――公企業と公共交通』（1983・有斐閣）』▽『日本国有鉄道再建監理委員会監修『国鉄改革　鉄道の未来を拓くために』（1985・運輸振興協会）』▽『『経済評論増刊　国鉄の再建を考える』（1985・日本評論社）』▽『大谷健著『国鉄民営化は成功したのか』（1997・朝日新聞社）』▽『日本国有鉄道編『日本国有鉄道百年史』復刻版全19冊（1998・成山堂書店）』▽『原田勝正著『日本の国鉄』（岩波新書）』