Japan Railways Group

The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the JR Group (Japanese: JRグループ Jeiāru Gurūpu), is a group of nine companies that spawned from the division and privatization of the former Japanese National Railways. The group is the biggest operator of rail transportation throughout Japan, operating Shinkansen, limited express and commuter trains throughout Japan's rail network.
==History==
The Japan Railways Group was formed out of the privatization of the Japanese National Railways, which had by the 1980s become practically insolvent due to the decline of rail transport and fare increases failing to compensate for high labor costs. The Japanese government, by 1987, took steps to privatize the JNR; the Japanese National Railway Settlement Corporation was later formed to distribute the funds of the companies after the JNR was privatized. Privatization of some of the companies began by the 1990s; all shares of JR East, West, Central and Kyushu are publicly traded as of 2016, while the remaining companies are owned by the state-affiliated Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency.
==Companies==
The JR Group consists of nine companies; this includes seven rail companies and two other companies that do not provide rail service. Six of the rail companies provide passenger service by region while the remaining rail company provides a nationwide freight service. Most services operated by the companies are within their prescribed general area although some services extend beyond the boundaries. The company does not have a shared headquarters or a holding company to set overall business policies.
Logo	Name 	Abbreviation	Color 	Business 	Region(s) operated 	President 	Chairman 	Traded as
 	Central Japan Railway Company 	JR Central 	Pumpkin 	Passenger transportation 	Chūbu, Tōkai 	Shunsuke Niwa 	Shin Kaneko 	TYO 9022NAG 9022Nikkei 225 componentTOPIX Core30 component
 	East Japan Railway Company 	JR East 	Forest 	Passenger transportation 	Tōhoku, Kantō, Hokuriku, Kōshin'etsu	Yoichi Kise 	Yuji Fukasawa 	TYO 9020Nikkei 225 componentTOPIX Large70 component
 	Hokkaido Railway Company 	JR Hokkaido 	Grass 	Passenger transportation 	Hokkaido 	Yasuyuki Watanuki 	Osamu Shimada 	Not listed
 	Kyushu Railway Company 	JR Kyushu 	Scarlet 	Passenger transportation 	Kyushu 	Yoji Furumiya 	Toshihiko Aoyagi 	TYO 9142FSE 9142
 	Shikoku Railway Company 	JR Shikoku 	Sky 	Passenger transportation 	Shikoku 	Tsuguhiro Nishimaki	Kazuyuki Shinomiya	Not listed
 	West Japan Railway Company 	JR West 	Ocean 	Passenger transportation 	Hokuriku, Kansai, Chūgoku, Kyushu 	Kazuaki Hasegawa 	Vacant 	TYO 9021Nikkei 225 componentTOPIX Large70 component
 	Japan Freight Railway Company 	JR Freight 	Slate 	Freight transportation 	Nationwide 	Shin Inukai 	Koichi Shingai 	Not listed
 	Railway Technology Research Institute	RTRI 	Lavender	Research and development 	Nationwide 	Ikuo Watanabe 	Masao Mukaidono 	Non-profit, owned by above seven railway companies
 	Railway Information Systems Co., Ltd.	JR Systems 	Burgundy	IT systems and development	Nationwide 	Hirotaka Honda 	Kazuaki Fujii 	Not listed, owned by above seven railway companies
Category:Companies
Category:Japanese Railways
Category:Asian Railways