Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
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# Measures to reduce redelivery in home delivery services

Recently, the use of home delivery services has sharply increased (15% up over the past five years) because of the massive expansion of electronic commerce, and approximately 20% of packages have been redelivered. A tentative calculation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) reveals that such redelivery causes significant social losses, such as “approximately 420,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is equivalent to 1% of annual emissions from commercial trucks (also equivalent to annual absorption by a cedar forest 2.5 times the area of the inner Yamanote Line)”, “approximately 180 million labor hours per year (equivalent to manpower of 90,000 people per year)”, etc.

In response to the findings, MLIT has held Review Meetings participated in by relevant enterprises, such as home delivery companies, mail order firms, convenience stores, and locker service companies, and carried out a questionnaire survey about redelivery in home delivery services $ {Note} $ . According to the results, redelivery was caused because the receivers “didn’t expect the delivery” or “expected, but were not home,” each accounting for about 40% of the causes.

Reduction of social losses inflicted by redelivery will lead to the suppression of global warming and the improvement in shortage of truck drivers due to the declining birthrate and aging population. Also, in order to maintain and make better Japan's highly convenient delivery services in the future, it is necessary to reduce wasteful redelivery.

To achieve the reduction in redelivery, in addition to further collaboration among relevant enterprises and their finding of better ways, each citizen is required to understand the social losses from the redelivery and offer cooperation.

MLIT has summarized main concrete measures to decrease the redelivery, as follows.

(i) Introduction of simpler methods to designate delivery date and time by utilizing the Web, applications, etc.

(ii) Promotion of public understanding of social losses from the redelivery and the grant of benefits to receivers according to their contribution to lower redelivery.

(iii) Improvement in convenience by expanding home delivery and mail order services handled by convenience stores, offering better procedures for receiving, etc.

(iv) Promotion of installation of home delivery boxes in houses and rightsizing of packages for the delivery boxes.

(v) Introduction and expansion of new methods for receiving packages, such as installation of home delivery boxes in railway stations and other public areas.

In order to realize these concrete measures, it is necessary for various relevant enterprises to collaborate and make efforts beyond the existing boundaries. Furthermore, for Japan's logistics business to raise the productivity and to maintain and improve the services, it is essential that cargo owners and logistics companies address this redelivery issue in an integrated manner, and that enterprises and citizens, the users of the services, understand and cooperate with the logistics business.

Note
(Note) EC stands for electronic commerce.

Source) "FY 2014 report on development of infrastructure toward information and service economy in Japan (FY 2014 E-Commerce Market Survey)" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

(Note) Since FY 2007, the number of packages handled by Japan Post Service Company was also counted.

Source) MLIT's "FY 2014 survey on the number of delivery service packages handled"

## Section 3

## Reactivating Industries

## Trends in railway industries and measures

## (1) Railway business

## (i) Trends and measures in the railway business

The number of railway passengers carried in FY 2014 increased from its year earlier level. At Japan Railway, transportation on Shinkansen increased while transportation on conventional railway lines decreased, with transportation on private railways on the increase.

In FY 2014, the annual volume (tons) and distance (kilometers) of railway freight were almost flat from the previous fiscal year, while carload freight slightly decreased.

The railway operators are working on such initiatives as presenting guidance information in multiple languages, showing route and station names along with their alphanumeric notation and offering free public wireless services in order to enhance railway competitiveness, increase convenience in coordination with livelihood services and be better prepared in receiving inbound foreign tourists.

Additionally, traffic IC cards continue to gain growing popularity across the nation since their pioneer "Suica" was launched by JR East in 2001. Since March 2013, 10 kinds of traffic IC cards used by JR and major private railways and the like have been made interoperable. As IC cards penetrate more railway operators and areas, they could help improve passenger convenience and reactivate regional economies.

## (ii) Initiatives towards the complete privatization of Japan Railways

The individual companies of Japan Railways incorporated upon breakup and privatization of Japan National Railways in April 1987 have carried on their respective management efforts to meet their own regional conditions and management climates over the following nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, East Japan Railway Company, West Japan Railway Company and Central Japan Railway Company have been completely privatized with completion of sales of shares held by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency.

Hokkaido Railway Company, Shikoku Railway Company, Kyushu Railway Company and Japan Freight Railway Company, on the other hand, carry on their respective efforts to increase revenues and cut costs. In the light of the social significance of the roles these companies play, such as securing means of local transportation and driving railway freight transportation having low environmental loads, necessary aids have been extended to them to reinforce their management structure and thus make them economically viable by leveraging funds from the JRTT Special Services Account since FY 2011 in accordance with the Act on Treatment of Debt, etc. of JNR Settlement Corporation (Act on Treatment of Debt,
etc.), in addition to the fixed property tax breaks already in effect.

Subsequently, as stable management base was established for Kyushu Railway Company with listing conditions in place, complete privatization of it was decided and the Act to Partially Amend the Law concerning Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company was passed in June 2015 (enforced in April 1, 2016) so that Kyushu Railway Company will be removed from the scope of application of the Law concerning Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company. For Hokkaido Railway Company and Shikoku Railway Company, in response to announcement by the MLIT Minster in June of the same year, it was decided to take additional support measures to enable implementation of necessary investments in safety and maintenance from FY 2016 under the Debt, etc. Disposal Act.

## (2) Railway vehicle industry

The volume of newly built railway vehicles by value moved flatwise for domestic shipment and varied depending on the status of orders for overseas shipment. Production by value in FY 2014 stood at 168.4 billion yen (1,645 vehicles). Production by value were broken down into 93.1% (156.8 billion yen) for domestic-bound and 6.9% (11.6 billion yen) for export-bound, former rising 1.4% over FY 2013 and the latter decreasing 69.9% over FY 2013.

Production of railway vehicle parts (such as power generators and bogies) was 278.9 billion yen by value and that of signal protection devices (such as automatic train control devices and electrical interlocking devices) was 121.7 billion yen.

Rolling stock builders and others are working to develop rolling stocks that fill diverse social needs, such as speed, safety, passenger comfort, low noise and being barrier-free, by partnering with railway operators and also to set up and even expand local production and service sites in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere with the recent order taking for overseas projects as an impetus.
## (1) Passenger vehicle transport business

## (i) Motor bus business

Demand for motor bus transportation, which is represented by the number of passengers carried and operating revenues, remained on the decline in pace with changes in the urban structure, such as a hollowing of the central area of a city, and increased ownership of private cars with the progress of motorization. While business activity remains sluggish, the climate surrounding the motor bus business remains extremely harsh.

## (ii) Chartered bus business

Since deregulations in February 2000, the chartered bus business has sponsored low-cost, diversified bus tours in its effort to deliver better user services, but competition is stiffening with increase in the population of operators in play. Furthermore, as group tours continue to be downsized and travel goods are lower-priced, transportation revenues have been declining. In addition, upsurges in the fuel charges continue to toughen the business climate surrounding the chartered bus business.

On the basis of the discussions at the Review Panel on the Future of the Bus Service that met in the wake of the April 2012 Kanetsu Expressway rapid tour bus

(Notes) 1 Numeric data above has been collected from the bus operators who own a fleet at least 30 motor buses. The parenthesized value for each fiscal year denotes the total number of bus operators who own a fleet at least 30 buses for that fiscal year.

2 The number of passengers carried in the three major metropolitan areas is an aggregate total for Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Mie, Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.

Source) MLIT

Figure II-6-3-2 Chartered bus business overview

accident, the Rapid and Chartered Bus Safety and Confidence Recovery Plan was worked out to carry on two-year efforts intended to add to the safety of rapid and chartered buses in FY 2013 and FY 2014.
## (iii) Taxi business

As for the taxi business, amendments to the “Act on Special Measures Concerning Rationalization and Revitalization of General Passenger Vehicle Transportation Businesses in Designated Districts” enforced in October 2009 were passed as a lawmaker-initiated legislation at the 185th extraordinary session of the Diet in 2013 to upgrade the drivers’ working conditions, enhance the level of taxi services and so on, and came into effect in January 2014.

The MLIT seeks to resolve the problems of the oversupply of taxes and upgrade services and safety on the basis of statutory regulations and collateral resolutions made at both Houses of the Diet.

## (2) Replacement driver service

The replacement driver service is used as an alternate means of transport for drunken drivers. As of the end of December 2015, 8,866 replacement driver service providers are in operation. Keen to add to further soundness of the replacement driver service, the MLIT has formulated “Measures for Making the Replacement Driver Service More Sound for Added Safety and Security” in collaboration with the National Police Agency in March 2012 as part of its continuing effort to drive various relevant measures. Furthermore, the MLIT developed “measures to address issues concerning user protection toward appropriate operation of replacement driver services” in March 2016 in order to further ensure protection of users in replacement driver service, and these measures are scheduled for implementation starting from April 2016.

## (3) Truck transport business

The number of motor truck carriers had been on the rise for long, but the number of carriers has been moving crabwise at about 63,000 since 2008.

Since about 99.9% of truck transport business operators are small and medium sized businesses, they are in a weak position in relation to shippers and other business partners and thus subject to such issues as not being able to receive appropriate fares and being forced to accept waiting time for convenience of shippers. Therefore, in FY 2015 we set up councils consisting of shippers, transport companies, relevant ministries and other relevant parties centrally and in each prefecture for full-fledged discussions to improve transactional environments, long working hours and productivity of the truck transport industry. In FY 2016 and onwards, we plan to implement pilot projects to create spe-
for securing the Japanese-flagged vessels and Japanese seafarers under the Marine Transportation Law.

On the other hand, causing the terrible Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear power plant accident, the significance of economic security assurance through Japanese merchant fleets have been more actualized than before. Among of the situations, the Marine Transportation Law was amended in September 2012, establishing a deemed-Japanese-flagged vessel system. The deemed-Japanese-flagged vessel means a foreign-flagged vessel operated by Japanese shipping firm and owned by their overseas subsidiaries which can change its flag to Japan immediately in case of issuance.

Trend in number of Japanese Seafarers Aboard International Vessels, Japanese Merchant Fleet

ing the “Order to Engage in Voyage” based on Marine Transportation Law. Japan will support the increased Japanese-flagged vessels and secure the deemed-Japanese-flagged vessels to perform a complementary role of Japanese-flagged vessels.

Japan will pursue to consolidate stable maritime transport that is functional in times of emergencies, as well as at ordinary times, by measures and other approaches as mentioned.

## (ii) Acquiring and fostering seafarers (Seamen)

Acquiring and fostering Japanese ship’s seafarers, human resources of marine transportation, is of essential importance to boosting Japan’s economy and maintaining and upgrading national life. Coastal shipping sailors are aging with about 50% of them being 50 years of age or older, and it is necessary to secure and foster a sufficient number of young seafarers so that bearers’ shortages will not occur when old seafarers retire in a large number. Therefore, we are striving to strengthen the system for supplying seafarers by such means as raising the quotas of education institutions for seafarers and expanding

employment outside such institutions, as well as to increase employment opportunities for new seafarers by supporting business operators that employ new seafarers in a systematical manner and holding job interviews for new graduates.

On the other hand, a certain number of ocean-going Japanese sailors need to be secured and fostered from economic security and other perspectives. Therefore, we are making efforts to secure Japanese seafarers, including steady implementation of the plan to secure Japanese vessels and seafarers.

As Asian seafarers account for a greater proportion of the total seafarers aboard Japanese merchant fleet, training aimed at improving the skills of mariner’s instructors in the developing nations has been conducted to help secure and foster more capable Asian seafarers.

The I.A.I. Marine Technical Education Agency (MTEA) and the National Institute for Sea Training (NIST) are the seafarers training institutions over which the MLIT holds jurisdiction. The MTEA not only provides the basic knowledge and skill required for a ship operating officer but also implements reeducation to meet shipping industry's requests for
catch up with technological innovations. The NIST provides unified on-board practical training on students at the MTEA, mercantile marine universities and colleges of technology using five training ships.

In April 2016, the two entities were consolidated into “the I.A.I.Japan agency of Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers(JMETS)” that provides classroom lecture and on-board practical training using training ships in an integrated manner.

The new entity, as a core seafarer educational institution, steadily pushes forward the securing and fostering young seafarers by advancing training contents and making the best use of its resources.

In addition to these efforts to secure and foster seafarers, continued efforts will be directed at promoting On-board Occupational Health and Safety Management System and Work Improvement on Board (WIB), a continual approach to reducing seafarers' accidents to add to the vocational charms of the job of being a seafarer.

## (iii) Disseminating Maritime Thought Note

While achieving stable marine transportation is crucial in supporting the Japanese economy and national life, the understanding of sea by the public is not necessarily sufficient.

The MLIT is making efforts of maritime publicity activities, such as sponsoring Sea-Festa (held in six cities and one town, including Kumamoto-shi, in 2015) and commending those who have been instrumental in helping Japan to grow into a maritime nation (Prime Minister’s Commendation).

## (2) Marine transportation industry

## (i) International shipping

The volume of cargo movement on ocean in the world for 2014 stood at 10.529 billion tons (up 3.5% year-on-year) with Japan’s volume of seaborne trade for the same year at 0.95859 billion tons (down 1.5% year-on-year).

International shipping in FY 2014 saw improvements in the business environment due to, among other factors, a moderate economic recovery in European and US countries and a decline in fuel oil prices, amid continuing severe circumstances such as economic decelerations in emerging countries and declining market conditions for farers due to oversupply of ships.

## (ii) Domestic passenger shipping business

The domestic passenger shipping business plays a significant role as a means of regional transportation, and ferryboat transportation, in particular, has become a key mode of transportation for modal shifts in the nationwide logistics network. In the meantime, the domestic passenger shipping business needs to boost its competitiveness or toughen its structure, as by pushing further automation to cut costs, to break through a variety of confronting challenges, such as declining demand for transportation with changes in the demographic structure and soaring fuel prices.

Accordingly, a variety of support measures have been advanced in collaboration with local governments or operators, including making ships more energy-efficient.

cient through the utilization of co-owner ship construction institution of the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, adding to the charms of voyage by sea and augmenting user convenience in conjunction with the
tourism industry.

## (iii) Coastal shipping

Coastal shipping offers high economic efficiency and excellent shipping characteristics in terms of environmental protection. Coastal shipping is a key means of conveyance supporting Japan’s economic activity and national life, as it commands about 40% of domestic distribution and about 80% of industrial basic material transport. In recent years, the economy is on a recovery trend but the overall freight transportation volume was lower compared to FY 2014 due to reaction to the hike in demand before the consumption tax increase and impact of the Chinese economy. In the meantime, the building of new ships continues strong but

overage ships still account for a bulk of the total ship population. Promoting shipbuilding to replace at a steady pace, coupled with efforts to simplify the flow of shipping, should be the key to assuring stable shipping while responding precisely to demand changes.

To address such circumstances, the MLIT has reduced charter ages by taking advantage of joint ownership shipbuilding scheme of Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, an independent administrative agency, and offered exceptional tax measures to encourage migration to building ships that offer superior environmental performance, thereby pushing the implementation of measures aimed at building competitiveness, as by saving ship energy requirements. The MLIT formulated and publicized “Guidelines for Ship Management Activities in Coastal Shipping” to help reactivate coastal shipping that leverages ship management firms in July 2012 and also introduced techniques for assessing compliance with the Guidelines in April 2013 to “visualize” the management services provided by the ship management firms. Furthermore, the smooth and steady implementation of provisional measures for coastal shipping $ ^{*} $ Note is also supported.

## (iv) Port and harbor transportation business

The port and harbor transportation business plays a significant role as an interconnecting node between marine sea and land transportation in support of Japan’s economy and national life. As of the end of March 2015, there are 874 transporters (0.5% down from the previous year) in the general port and harbor transportation business at the 93 ports nationwide that are governed by the Port and Harbor Transportation Business Act. Vessel loading and unloading volumes for FY 2014 were approximately 1,438 million tons nationwide (down 0.4% from the previous year).

## (3) Shipbuilding industry

## (i) Present status of the shipbuilding industry

Japan’s shipbuilding industry is an extremely important industry that contributes to regional economy and employment by providing a stable supply of quality vessels tailored to ship owner’s varied needs. Japan possesses a clustered integration of maritime industries in which the marine transport business, shipbuilding business and ship machinery business are closely linked to one another.
Following the increases in the volume of marine transportation reflecting a buoyant global market, China and Korea stepped up their shipbuilding capacities rapidly, pushing the world’s amount of new shipbuilding for 2015 to 68,730,000 gross tons (against 13,020,000 gross tons for Japan, commanding 18.9% of the global market). Japan’s order volume has turned upward on the support of corrections of the yen appreciation since the end of 2012, but stiff global competition continues, keeping tonnage values low.

The production of ship machinery products (except for outboard motors) for 2014 was valued at 800.5 billion yen (up about 12.4% from its year earlier level), with an export amount of 220.6 billion yen (down about 7.8% from its year earlier level). This is the first increase in six years due to a rise in orders for new shipbuilding; however, the climate surrounding the ship machinery and equipment industry remains severe due to stiffening international competition, increasingly aging workforce and other factors.

(ii) Approaches to consolidating the international competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry

To consolidate the international competitiveness of Japan’s shipbuilding industry and allow Japan to stay a first-class shipbuilding nation, the implementation of a policy package focusing on boosting Japan’s order-taking capacities and deployment into new markets and new segments of business, and assurance and cultivation of human resources, have been propelled.

Starting from FY 2013, support has been extended to shipbuilders, shipping operators and the like in their efforts to develop next-generation marine environment technologies that help enhance fuel efficiencies for their vessels with a view to reinforce Japan’s order-taking capacities. The Ministry is committed to realizing a desirable framework of international collaboration under cooperation between the public and private sectors and exploring, and promoting the diffusion of, energy-saving technologies for ships and so on.

Also, efforts on the establishment of marine transportation systems for North American shale gas and other new energy