## 5 Determining the Causes of Air, Rail, and Marine Accidents/ Serious Incidents and Preventing Recurrence

The Japan Transport Safety Board began operations of the Japan-Marine Accident Risk and Safety Information System (J-MARISIS) from September 2013 for foreign sailors, in light of the fact that most Japanese merchant marine fleets are operated by foreign sailors and also numerous accidents involving foreign flag vessels in Japanese coastal waters in recent years (in the future, a global version showing ship accidents around the world is planned for operation).

With regard to accidents/serious incidents investigations, 23 investigation reports of aircraft accidents/serious incidents were published, and of this, regarding the accident that occurred in July 2011 in Hokkaido where the aircraft crashed into the mountainside during basic instrument flight training resulting in three fatalities and one serious injury, a recommendation was made to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism that until those involved in the causes can autonomously and surely operate the safety management system on their own, the status of measures regarding the safety management situation need to be

accurately assessed and supervised among other measures as an example of the four recommendations and three safety recommendations for aircraft accidents/serious incidents.

Besides, 21 investigation reports of railway accidents/serious incidents were published including that of the train derailment accident that occurred in May 2011 in Hokkaido, where recommendations were made to those involved in the causes to ensure that wheels exceeding the limits of usage for tread abrasion and the length of the abrasion are not used by establishing appropriate inspection intervals and methods to assess the status of the wheel tread and fully enforce its management as part of the three recommendations regarding railway accidents/serious incidents.

Moreover, 1,151 investigation reports of marine accidents were published including the collision accident that occurred in the Kinkasan offing in Miyagi Prefecture in September 2012, where opinions were stated to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Director-General of the Fisheries Agency to consider measures for raising increased awareness towards the effectiveness of AIS for the owners of fishing vessels and ships, gather and utilize information on the operational status of fishing ships with maritime vessel traffic from Japan-Marine Accident Risk and Safety Information System and other sources as part of the four recommendations and two opinions stated regarding maritime accidents.

## 6 Support for Victims and Families of Public Transport Accidents

To ensure support for victims and others of public transport accidents, the Public Transport Accident Victims Support Office was established in April 2012. The Support Office is in charge of such tasks as: 1) serving as a contact point to provide information when public transport accidents occur and 2) coordination functions over the mid to long-term until the victims and affected can resume a normal life following the accident.

In fiscal 2013, support activities at the hospital where victims are being treated when serious public transportation accidents occur and promoting awareness for the support contact point were carried out. Also, during ordinary times, education and training was implemented for support staff, networks with external organizations were established and the promotion for the creation of victim support plans by public transport operators among other activities were carried out. In the future, based on feedback from stakeholders, the Support Office’s functions will continue to be improved and measures to support the victims and others of public transport accidents will be steadily moved forward.