JapaneseRailwayHistory-战时铁路政策.docVIP

Japanese Railway History 8Wartime Railways and Transport Policies?Yasuo Wakuda Railways during Sino-Japanese ConflictJapan came into full-scale conflict with China in 1937, but the two armies had been skirmishing in northeast China and the Shanghai area on and off since 1931. In 1932, Japan established the Manchuko puppet government, causing international criticism. In the following year, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and became politically isolated from the rest of the world. The government was unable to control the military, and any criticism was violently suppressed. Soon, the country fell under the control of ultranationalist fanatics.?Despite the political instability, Japans economy recovered from the depression in the mid-1930s and demand for transportation began to grow. There was significant technical progress and improvement in railway services, although the narrow-gauge track caused limitations.For many years, railway travellers in Japan had traveled first, second, or third class, but in 1934, first class was discontinued except on the Tokaido and Sanyo limited expresses (and a few other express services). This left a two-class system while most of the private railways were operating a single-class system.Roads were still undeveloped but motor transport began to play some role. However, in 1934, there were still only 109,000 automobiles in Japan, a sharp contrast to the USA (23,827,000) and Germany (866,000). Car ownership (number of automobiles per head) in Japan was less than 1% of that in the United States, and slightly higher than 10% of that in Germany. Most automobiles were buses and taxis, and the growth of road transport businesses using these vehicles cast long shadows over short-distance railway transportation.?The primary countermeasures taken by railways included frequent operation of short trains by introducing gasoline railcars, and establishment of their own bus services. Despite such efforts, many private rural lines