WHITE PAPER ON TRAFFIC SAFETY IN JAPAN 2006

{3} In 2006, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet Office surveyed development rates for sidewalks in other countries to see how Japan compared internationally. Among OECD member countries, data on sidewalk development was available only in Japan and four other countries. Because of differences in methods of calculating the length of sidewalks added and because of different road environments in each country, no simple comparison could be made. Still, differences in rates of sidewalk development emerged among the countries surveyed.

{4} In its “2001 Survey on Roads,” the Cabinet Office asked respondents “From the standpoint of road improvement, what kinds of measures do you believe are necessary to enhance road safety?” The most widely cited responses were “the development of pedestrian-only roads” (39.0%) and “the development of wider sidewalks” (31.7%).

2 Toward Developing People-First Walking Spaces that Ensure Safety and Bestow Peace of Mind

Most of the traffic safety measures that have been successful to date have dealt primarily with the automobile. The nation is still not paying sufficient attention to road development and traffic safety projects that will benefit the pedestrian.

Moreover, the safety of children commuting to school remains at serious risk from traffic detouring through near-by residential roads to avoid congestion on the major thoroughfares. As birthrates continue to fall and the elderly become a larger part of the population hereafter, there is a need not only to reduce fatalities among the elderly, whose deaths constitute 40% of all traffic deaths, but also to protect children who are the nation's future.

In light of this situation, the nation continues to adopt traffic safety measures that focus on the development of walking spaces that ensure safety and peace of mind to pedestrians. Guided by a people-first philosophy, these policies urge more active policy initiatives aimed at developing sidewalks and other facilities along school routes, residential roads, and major thoroughfares through urban districts, in cooperation with local communities.

(1) Promoting the development of sidewalks etc. along school routes and other roads

To ensure the safety of young children commuting to elementary schools, kindergartens, day care centers, and children's cultural facilities, the nation will advance an ambitious program for the development of sidewalks etc. along school routes.

These measures will include projects to install push-button activated traffic signals and pedestrians walk signals, to construct pedestrian overpasses, and to build more crosswalks.

(2) Promoting traffic safety measures along residential roads

In FY2003, the nation identified 796 locations in residential and commercial districts as sites requiring emergency measures to ensure safe use by pedestrians and bicycle riders. Known as “Safe Pedestrian Areas,” these became the focus of sidewalk building programs and other areawide and comprehensive accident prevention measures that were carried out in cooperation with prefectural public safety commissions and road management agencies. In addition to continuing to identify and improve other Safe Pedestrian Areas hereafter, the nation will actively promote projects to install sidewalks at sites along residential roads that are located outside these designated areas. Through use of an “Accident Prevention Manual for Residential Roads,”⁸ the traffic safety agencies involved will vigorously promote the adoption of other improvements to the road traffic environment that contribute to the reduction of traffic accidents.

(3) Provision of barrier free and other walk spaces

{1} To ensure safety and comfort for pedestrians and bicycle riders, the nation will adopt a two-pronged approach toward improving locations that are particularly prone to pedestrian accidents: carry out redesign projects; and continue to focus on the development of sidewalks and bike paths. In these improvement projects, the nation will endeavor to build sidewalks that are wide enough to permit comfortable passage by users. In instances where it is impossible to build sidewalks or other pedestrian facilities along existing roads, those involved will substitute exclusive pedestrian roads or combination bicycle and pedestrian paths that run parallel to the existing road.

{2} In order to help seniors and disabled people lead independent, socially active lives, the nation will pursue ambitious programs of sidewalk building in areas near train stations, public facilities, welfare facilities, hospitals and so on, basing their plans on universal design concepts, which ensure sufficient width and evenness. The nation will also endeavor to make improvements in the following areas: in the installation of barrier-free traffic signals (with audio assistance); in signals that indicate waiting time at crosswalks; in the construction of pedestrian overpasses equipped with lifts; in rest areas for pedestrians; in bicycle parking facilities; and in the design of parking facilities with enlarged parking stalls, which accommodate the needs of the disabled. The nation will also endeavor to eliminate utility poles as part of their renovation projects, convert traffic signals to LED lighting, and enhance road signs and markings to make them more visible to elderly motorists.

Focus
Reflective Material and Traffic Safety

In 2005, fatalities from traffic accidents declined for the fifth consecutive year, and they fell below 7,000 for the first time in 49 years (since 1956). Fatalities among pedestrians remained high, however, reaching 2,104 and accounting for more than 30% of all traffic-related deaths. Of these, approximately 70% occurred while people were walking at night. Moreover, the fatality rate of casualties at night was around 3.8 times that of casualties during the day.

Given this situation, achieving the government's goal of “reducing traffic fatalities to less than 5,000 within a 10-year period” will depend significantly on being able to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths at night.

On the other hand, although reflective material is widely recognized as an effective means of preventing traffic accidents at night, the number of people who own or use such material is low. Taking this situation into account, the national government has been endeavoring to prevent nighttime accidents by stepping up its calls to pedestrians to use reflective material as a means of improving their visibility to drivers.

In this section, we detail the activities engaged in by the National Police Agency and the prefectural police departments to improve traffic safety, primarily their coordinated campaign to encourage the use of reflective material during FY2005.

1 Reflective devices and visibility

Reflective material employs a property called retroflection, in which the material isoptically designed to reflect light back in the direction of the light source, no matter what itsdirection. Light from a car's headlights, when shined on a reflective material, will bereturned in the direction of the car, which is the source of the light. When this happens, thereflective material will appear very bright to the driver, who will thus recognize thepresence of a pedestrian from a long distance away.

2 Campaigns by the National Police Agency

In conjunction with awareness-raising activity by prefectural police departments, the National Police Agency took steps to expand the campaign to promote reflective material to a national audience. To publicize its efforts, the agency produced an educational video and established a home page on reflective material, which it maintained between September 2005 and January 2006.

• (1) Number of persons accessing home page:

  Number of persons accessing home page: approximately 67,000 (an average of 438 persons/day)

  Number of persons viewing National Police Agency video (“Reflective Material: the Lifesaving Light”): approximately 5,400 persons

• (2) Survey results on effects of using reflective material Through its home page, the National Police Agency assembled a group of persons to act as monitors and on three separate occasions asked them to respond to surveys regarding the effects of wearing reflective material during their walks.

Number of registered monitors: approximately 5,500 persons (male, 63%; female, 37%)

• {1} Persons who wore reflective material each time he or she left the house at night
  ...increased from 23% to 35%
• {2} Persons who felt a resistance to using reflective material
  ...decreased from 20% to 5%
• {3} Persons who directly sensed the impact of using reflective material, including feeling that “approaching cars slowed down upon seeing them”
  ...39%
• {4} Drivers who confirmed an increase in visibility when pedestrians wore reflective material:
  ...99%
• {5} Persons who will continue to wear reflective material hereafter
  ...80%
• {6} The principal reflective materials used by monitors

3 Principal public-information and awareness-raising activities by prefectural police

• (1) Prefectural citizens campaigns

  Using easily identifiable names such as the Safe Night Initiative, the Aurora Initiative and the “Ashi Pika” (flashing feet) Movement, prefectural police engaged in a variety of activities aimed at generating momentum for wider use of reflective material among prefectural residents. They distributed reflective material on street corners, on visits to seniors' homes, and at lectures and other educational events. They also placed them directly on to shoes etc., used by people in their everyday lives at these events.

• (2) Street campaigns, with participation by governors and local administrative heads

  The police mobilized large numbers of volunteers from local governments and related agencies and organizations to distribute leaflets and other information at major intersections and at shopping and entertainment districts. At these events, participants wearing reflective garments encouraged passersby to use reflective material.

• (3) Convening of nighttime educational programs

  These were nighttime programs oriented toward participation, hands-on experience, and actual practice which sought to increase the public's understanding of the benefits of wearing reflective material, ways of wearing the material, etc. The police used cars at driver training facilities, schools and other locations to demonstrate a number of phenomena, including: 1) differences in visibility depending on the color of clothing worn and whether a pedestrian was or was not wearing reflective material; 2) the areas that are visible to drivers within their headlights beams; 3) the glare phenomenon caused by light from an approaching vehicle which causes objects to disappear.

• (4) Fashion shows highlighting reflective material

  The items put on display at these shows included shoes with built-in reflective material, and clothing and accessories such as jackets, coats, hats, umbrellas and handbags that incorporate reflective material into their design. The shows also demonstrated the variety and the benefits of reflective material by introducing novel applications such as reflective sashes, shoes with reflective seals attached, reflective key holders, and other products.

  To foster a greater sense of familiarity with the material, the police also staged tee-shirt competitions in which all entries incorporated reflective material into their designs.

• (5) Delegation of promotional activities

  Under this program, municipal heads of government and police chiefs delegated authority to promote reflective material to outside groups, principally community seniors' groups, which were designated as task forces for the wider use of reflective material. In addition to leading by example, these groups organized events where they urged people in the community to use reflective material.

4 Promoting the use of reflective material

• (1) Promoting experience-based traffic safety education

  One of the findings of the campaign by the prefectural police was not unexpected: that monitors who experienced the benefits of using reflective material generally continued to use the material.

  In view of this success, the nation will continue to promote hands-on traffic safety educational programs that enable participants to experience the benefits of reflective material and that promote a correct understanding of these benefits.

• (2) Encouraging a wider dissemination of reflective clothing and other products that are used on a daily basis

  To encourage wider acceptance of the idea of wearing reflective material on a regular basis, one effective approach is to incorporate the material unobtrusively into clothing and daily accessories. This has led the National Police Agency to encourage industry to develop and distribute a wide variety of reflective products by providing support for activities of the Committee to Promote the Utilization of Reflective Material, which comprises representatives of related industries and organizations.

Focus
Future Directions in Railway Transportation Safety Measures
- From the Eighth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program -

1 Basic Thinking

Railways are an indispensable part of the daily life of the nation because of their ability to transport large numbers of people and large quantities of freight rapidly and on time. Given the high-density use of railways today, a single accident will not only severely disrupt the benefits enjoyed by their users but can also cause enormous damage. The nation, therefore, needs to advance various safety measures and to establish an unshakeable trust among the people in the reliability of its railroads.

2 Objectives

• Aim to reduce the number of passenger deaths to zero.
• Aim to reduce the number of operations accidents.

3 Measures

(1) Perspectives

To solve the problems that lie behind individual accidents and to implement effective measures that profit from the lessons of past accidents, the nation must advance measures that deal comprehensively with such issues as improving the railway traffic environment, assuring safe operations of railways, and enhancing the safety of train cars.

(2) Measures to be implemented

• {1} Improving the railway traffic environment To ensure the safety of railroad traffic, railway operators must maintain their tracks, safety equipment, and other facilities in highly reliable working order, and make this the foundation of safety for their overall systems. Achieving this will require not only a strict adherence to programs of facilities upkeep and maintenance but also the implementation of policies aimed at upgrading operational safety devices and strengthening the earthquake resistance of railway structures.

• {2} Assuring the safe operations of railways

  The nation will encourage the building of safety management systems in which everyone, from top management to operational personnel, works as a team. Regulatory agencies will also adopt the mechanisms of the “Management Safety Evaluation System,” under which the national government confirms the adequacy of these safety management systems.

  Regulatory agencies will also require railways to maintain and enhance the quality of their train crews and safety specialists, and will promote the development of stronger and wider ranging safety audits. They will also endeavor to heighten the public's awareness of safety-related issues through public information activities directed to the nation as a whole.

• {3} Enhancing the safety of train cars

  Weighing the progress being made in scientific and technical areas, the nation will take steps to maintain and improve the safety of its train cars. It will do so by reassessing, in a timely and appropriate manner, safety-related technical standards for the structure of rail cars and the equipment used in them, and by urging the adoption of more effective methods and programs of inspection.

• {4} Improving rescue and emergency services systems

  When a major railway accident occurs, crews must be promptly and unerringly mobilized to care for evacuation, rescue and emergency medical needs. To prepare for these situations, regulatory agencies will carry out increasingly comprehensive disaster drills at major train stations and strengthen systems of coordination and cooperation between railway companies and the agencies that will be coming to assist them: fire departments, medical institutions and others.

• {5} Promoting measures for the support of victims

  The nation will strengthen its support of victims who are seeking compensation for losses, and will promote measures that are sensitive to the psychological and spiritual needs of victims. Particularly in the event of catastrophic accidents, the police, medical institutions, local governments, and private victims-support organizations will act in concert to support victims.

• {6} Improving capabilities in research and development and investigation and analysis In addition to supporting further research and development into ways of preventing railway accidents, the nation will advance measures that support programs of comprehensive investigation and analysis into the causes of accidents. everyone, from top management to operational personnel, works as a team. Regulatory agencies will also adopt the mechanisms of the “Management Safety Evaluation System,” under which the national government confirms the adequacy of these safety management systems.

Focus
Accident Investigation and Safety Measures Relating to the Derailment Accident on the JR West Fukuchiyama Line

On April 25, 2005, the first five cars of a train traveling on a curved section of the track between Tsukaguchi Station and Amagasaki Station on the JR West Fukuchiyama Line derailed, catapulting the first two cars into a condominium on the left side of the tracks. This catastrophic accident resulted in 107 deaths and 549 injuries (as reported by the Emergency and Rescue Section of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency at 9:00 a.m., May 24). Currently, members of the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission (ARAIC) are working diligently to uncover the causes of the accident. An outline of the course of the investigation to date, and of the safety measures adopted as a result, is as follows.

1 Accident investigation

On April 25, ARAIC sent two commissioners and five railroad accident investigators to the accident site. From then until August 31, the commission chairman, ARAIC commissioners, and commission experts spent a total of 30 man-days at the site; the bureau chief and railroad accident investigators spent another 256 man-days there. Recognizing the urgency of considering measures that would prevent the reoccurrence of such accidents, ARAIC issued an interim report on its investigations on September 6 and made a number of recommendations to the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT). Its recommendations touched on such issues as enhancing the performance of ATS devices, making sure that other trains are protected from secondary damage at the time of such accidents, installing and using devices that record the condition of trains on the tracks, and enhancing the precision of speed sensors. The commission is currently continuing its investigations with the aim of arriving at its final conclusions on the causes of the accident.

2 Safety measures

Following the accident, MLIT instructed railway companies to complete installation of ATS and other devices which prevent trains from traveling at excess speeds around sharp curves on the track. The ministry also convened its Technical Standards Evaluation Committee to reassess the levels of safety required by current technical standards in light of accidents that have occurred in recent years. In November, the committee issued its interim findings, which proposed to the ministry that standards be set for the installation of speed control devices at curves and switches and at the end of tracks. Based on these recommendations, MLIT promulgated its revised technical standards on March 24, 2006.

Another important development in terms of safety measures was the passage on March 29, 2006 of the “Law to Amend the Railway Business Law to Enhance Transportation Safety.” The aim of the amendment was to establish systems of safety management within railway companies, including systems that deal with the fitness and suitability of train operators. In addition, MLIT convened an expert committee to look into the question of train operator suitability. This group, called the Committee to Evaluate Measures to Enhance Train Operator Fitness and Suitability, is examining ways of improving the education of train operators and of enhancing the work place environment.

MLIT also ordered JR West to formulate a Safety Improvement Plan that proposes radical measures aimed at preventing a reoccurrence of such accidents. Through audits of JR West's headquarters and branch offices, the ministry has been monitoring the company's efforts to implement the plan's proposals. On November 15, MLIT notified the company to continue working steadily on the plan. It is continuing to audit the company's performance and to issue guidance as necessary.

Focus
Expediting Measures to Eliminate Grade-Level Crossings

Despite being in a long-term decline, accidents at rail crossings in Japan remain a problem. One such accident occurred on March 15, 2005, at a “rail crossing that does not open” near Takenotsuka Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line. Four people were injured, two fatally. Rail crossing accidents account for roughly half of all railway operationsaccidents, and many crossings still exist that require improvements.

There are approximately 36,000 grade-level train crossings in Japan, of which roughly 600 fall under the classification of “crossings that do not open.” This characterization refers to crossings where, during peak traffic hours, barriers remain down for over 40 minutes in a given one-hour period. Of these, 95% is concentrated within the metropolitan areas of Japan's three largest cities, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

MLIT has endeavored to replace grade-level crossings with overpasses or underpasses, and to carry out other structural improvements and to install new safety equipment. But to expedite work at sites where the need for improvement has reached a critical point, MLIT will adopt the following measures. By taking these and other steps to improve the safety and flow of traffic through level crossings, MLIT is aiming to reduce accidents at rail crossings in 2010 by 10% compared to 2005.

Focus
Comprehensive Safety Measures for Public Transportation

In recent days, public transportation has suffered a series of major accidents and safety-related setbacks, including the derailment accident on the JR West Fukuchiyama Line in April 2005 and problems in the airline industry caused by human error and by parts and mechanical malfunctioning. Many are pointing their fingers at a background of human errors, such as an inadequate commitment among senior managers to safety first, insufficient communication and information sharing between management and operational personnel, and between different divisions. Eliminating these problems and restoring the public's trust in public transportation has become an urgent issue.

Consequently, in June 2005, MLIT established the Committee to Evaluate Measures for the Prevention of Accidents Caused by Human Error in Public Transportation (chairperson: Administrative Vice-Minister, MLIT). This committee accepted testimony from outside experts and reviewed examples of efforts by industry to come up with comprehensive and effective measures against human error in public transportation systems.

In addition to implementing sector-specific safety measures for automobiles, railways, marine vessels and airlines, MLIT is implementing the following measures that cut across industry lines.

(1) Building safety management capabilities; sustaining safety management efforts

MLIT is seeking to ensure transportation safety in land, maritime and air systems by imbuing the organizations of carriers and other providers with a sense of the importance of safety, and by helping to create corporate cultures that understand and effectively implement transportation safety measures. MLIT has mandated that all companies involved in the respective areas of transportation (automobiles, railways, marine vessels and airlines) prepare safety management regulations that detail operational policies relating to transportation safety. MLIT has required that these regulations also describe organizational arrangements and methods of communication on safety-related issues in each division, stipulate the implementation of internal audits, and provide for the continual review and improvement of operational practices. MLIT has also made it obligatory for each company to appoint a manager responsible for administering and controlling safety. MLIT is also encouraging companies to take the initiative to review and improve operational practices in order to ensure top leadership's involvement in assuring the safety of transportation. In this way, MLIT will foster the creation of safety management systems that involve everyone from top management to operational personnel working as a team. In addition, MLIT will introduce a Management Safety Evaluation System by which the national government monitors top management's involvement in safety management.

To carry out the above measures, MLIT drafted legislation to amend certain parts of existing law. This legislation resulted in the “Law to Amend the Railway Business Law to Enhance Transportation Safety,” which was passed in the 164th session of the Diet (law no. 19, 2006) and later promulgated.

MLIT is also preparing for the implementation of the Management Safety Evaluation System by developing guidelines that prescribe for all modes of transportation a common section within each company's safety management regulations dealing with the new system.

(2) Technological developments to prevent human error

As transportation systems become more sophisticated and traffic on these systems grows increasingly congested, human-machine systems will continue to accelerate in sophistication and complexity.

In response, MLIT will encourage the adoption of new and sophisticated technological systems that help prevent human error. It will also actively support the development of technologies that alert train operators and others to potentially dangerous situations and that assist those managing transportation systems to monitor the status of the vehicles operating in their systems.

Focus
Planned Maritime-Safety Initiatives
- From the Eighth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program -

1 Basic thinking

Because maritime accidents can have untold consequences for economic activity and the natural environment and lead to loss of precious life, the top priority is prevention. There is a need to enforce maritime safety measures aimed at securing the capability to mount prompt and appropriate search and rescue missions for crew members and others involved in maritime accidents and to aim for a society free of maritime accidents.

2 Objectives

• To prevent major maritime accidents resulting in obstruction of waterways in congested coastal waters and to reduce the incidence of such accidents to zero.
• To reduce the number of fatalities and missing persons resulting from maritime accidents and falling overboard to fewer than 220 per year by 2010.

3 Measures

(1) Perspective

There is a need to implement more effective measures by extending and bolstering the capability to mount rescues promptly and appropriately in coastal waters while taking various steps to prevent maritime accidents.

(2) Measures to be implemented

• {1} Environment enhancement

  Sea craft are growing in size and speed, uses of coastal seas are becoming more diverse and maritime traffic more complex. Against this background, the government is taking steps to improve information in the form of navigation charts and coastal pilots and communication utilizing IT while upgrading waterways, harbors, fishing ports and aids to navigation to ensure safe and smooth passage of sea craft and harbor safety.

• {2} Maritime safety campaigns

  In order to raise awareness not only among marine personnel but also marine-leisure fans and, ultimately, all citizens, the government will utilize every opportunity to draw attention to the importance of preventing maritime accidents. It will also implement more specific and effective safety-instruction programs adapted for the characteristics of each vessel type and the incidence and nature of accidents.

• {3} Ensuring safe operation

  The government aims to ensure safe operation of vessels by maintaining and improving the knowledge and skills of marine personnel and establishing a framework for promoting safe operation. It will also take action to oversee the qualifications of crew members of foreign ships calling into Japanese ports under the terms of international treaties. Furthermore, it will press for a total commitment to safety at all levels from top management to crew and will introduce a Safety Management Assessment program, which it will use to confirm the process.

• {4} Maritime safety assurance

  To ensure maritime safety, the government, acting under the terms of international treaties, will update safety-management standards related to vessel structure, facilities and marine transportation of dangerous substances and implement steps to supervise the structure and equipment of foreign vessels calling at Japanese ports. It will also take necessary measures to promote use of universal designs.

• {5} Improving safety of small craft

  In order to prevent accidents involving small craft, which account for the majority of maritime accidents, the government will improve the environment for safe operation and bolster its rescue capabilities in addition to raising safety consciousness among marine-leisure fans and commercial fishing-boat operators. It will also promote measures to prevent disasters involving elderly crew members and commercial fishing vessels resulting in casualties based on the Basic Plan concerning disaster prevention for seafarers and the Implementation Plan concerning disaster prevention for seafarers.

• {6} Maintenance of maritime law and order

  In addition to strengthening the regulation and policing of navigation in congested waterways as well as criminal activities likely to result in maritime accidents, the government will bolster regulation and policing during seasons of heavy marine-transportation activity and marine-leisure activity to maintain maritime law and order.

• {7} Improving rescue and emergency services systems

  The government will upgrade its rescue and emergency role to ensure rapid access to information about accidents, accurate predictions of current drifts, rapid mobilization of rescue teams and also to reinforce search and rescue capabilities. This will include shortening response times by upgrading mobile rescue capabilities utilizing the maneuverability and speed of helicopters and improving the operations of emergency life-saving technicians.

• {8} Victim support

  With respect to the obligation of vessel owners to compensate passengers and third parties injured in maritime accidents, the government will take action to notify relevant parties of expanded mandatory insurance requirements and boost the extent of insurance coverage while ensuring appropriate compensation taking into account changes in compensation levels.

  Following major accidents, the Japan Coast Guard, police, medical institutions, local-government organizations and private victim-support organizations will cooperate to support victims.

• {9} Improving capabilities in research and development and investigation and analysis The government will undertake comprehensive investigative studies related to maritime safety to identify the causes of maritime accidents and promptly reflect the findings in safety measures aimed at strengthening maritime safety.

Focus
Ensuring Safe Operation of Vessels

• I Between February and April 2006, there was a series of incidents involving a collision between a jetfoil traveling at high speed and some obstacle. One serious accident in April resulted in many injuries.

  • (1) On February 6, a jetfoil operated by JR Kyushu Jet Ferry struck an object thought to be a marine creature in an area north of Tsushima. On March 5, there was a similar incident in an area east of Tsushima and 14 passengers sustained slight injuries.

    MLIT reacted to these incidents by issuing a notice to the company with instructions to:

    • keep a sharper look-out
    • collect and analyze information from eyewitnesses and take steps to reduce speed;
    • enforce the wearing of seatbelts during high-speed navigation.

    As the company was involved in two similar accidents shortly thereafter, MLIT again instructed all operators of similar vessels to enforce the points outlined in the above-stated notice.

  • (2) On April 9, a jetfoil operated by Kagoshima Shosen between Kagoshima, Ibusuki, Tanegashima and Yakushima, collided with an obstacle at the entrance to Kagoshima Bay, resulting in minor and serious injuries to 110 passengers.

    MLIT responded to this incident by conducting emergency inspections of premises of all operators of similar vessels to instruct them to publicize and implement the points outlined in the above-stated notice.

  • (3) In view of the above developments and in the interests of ensuring the safety of ultra-high-speed vessels, MLIT set up on April 13 a committee comprised of relevant administrative bodies, experts, manufacturers and vessel operators to study comprehensive and effective measures to secure safer operation of ultra-high-speed vessels from both the perspective of the physical structure of vessels and their operation and management.

• II On April 13, 2006, there was a serious accident involving a collision in dense fog between two cargo ships (the 6,182-ton Philippine-registered Eastern Challenger carrying a crew of 25 and the 498-ton Tsugaru-maru carrying a crew of 5), resulting in the sinking of the Eastern Challenger.

  All crew members of the Eastern Challenger were rescued by a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat and by the Tsugaru-maru.

  As there was discharge of fuel oil from the Eastern Challenger following its sinking, the vessel owners immediately implemented measures to control the discharged oil by contracting with private organizations, including the Maritime Disaster Prevention Center, an independent administrative agency.

  The Japan Coast Guard mobilized patrol boats, aircraft and an oil-spillage control squad to survey the floating oil and control any discharged oil working in concert with the private organizations contracted by the vessel owners. Most of the discharged oil was dispersed and eliminated, but a portion washed up in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. Accordingly, the head of the Third Regional Maritime Safety Headquarters issued a request to the governor of Chiba Prefecture and the mayor of Tateyama City to take remedial action based on the Japanese law for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and Prevention of Marine Casualties (No. 136, 1970).

  MLIT conducted a special audit of the operator of the Tsugaru-maru and on April 18 issued a safety order to the operator based on the Coastal Shipping Business Law (No. 151, 1952), instructing the owner to collect information about weather and hydrographic conditions and to comply with operational standards in the event of an accident.

Focus
Recent Air-Traffic Safety Problems and Countermeasures

1. Safety problems involving air carriers

There have been no accidents resulting in passenger fatalities among Japanese air carriers since the crash of JAL Flight 123 at Mt. Osutaka in 1985. The few aircraft accidents per year that occur mainly involve air turbulence. However, since January 2005, there have been a series of safety problems resulting from human error or aircraft defects, although none has resulted in an aircraft accident.

Specifically, in the short interval up to the time the Japan Airline group received an order from MLIT to improve its operations on March 17, 2005, there was a series of problems, including improper use of undercarriage components in a cargo carrier and violations of traffic-control instructions at New Chitose Airport and at Incheon International Airport in South Korea. Since the start of 2006, there have also been incidents, including delays in performing inspections because of poor maintenance management.

Incidents have also been reported with other air carriers, including violation of air-traffic control directions, pilots following erroneous altimeter directions, and operation of aircraft beyond the deadline for performing repairs.

2. Actions taken by MLIT

• (1) apan Airlines group

  On March 17, 2005, MLIT issued an order to the carrier to improve its operations and on April 14, 2005, received a report of improvement measures adopted. Since then, MLIT has conducted a program of continuous on-the-spot inspections to monitor the implementation of improvement measures.

  On January 9, 2006, MLIT reprimanded the Japan Airlines group, instructing it to prevent human error, and on March 22, ordering it to ensure compliance with maintenance-work requirements.

• (2) Skymark Airlines

  On June 15, 2005 MLIT reprimanded the carrier for not having appropriate personnel to perform maintenance and on March 14, 2006, for inappropriate control of maintenance operations including the operation of an aircraft beyond the deadline for performing repairs. MLIT also established a special audit team to strengthen supervision because of concerns about the management of maintenance and safety at the carrier, stationing the team at Haneda Airport from March 17 to conduct auditing activities. Based on the results, the director general of the Civil Aviation Bureau issued an advisory to the president of the carrier to improve business operations, urging the carrier to take immediate steps to establish a safety-management system and to improve its maintenance management.

• (3) Other

  In view of the series of problems involving airlines, MLIT significantly strengthened the surveillance and supervision of air carriers by introducing random on-the-spot inspections and establishing a dedicated audit department within the Civil Aviation Bureau.

  MLIT revised the Aviation Law, based on the Law to Amend the Railway Business Law to Enhance Transportation Safety implemented on March 29, 2006, to bolster preventive safety measures by requiring air carriers to establish safety-management systems, mandating the reporting of developments that could impede safety in normal aircraft operations and reviewing safety measures and safety standards by collecting and analyzing safety data.

Focus
Planned Air-Traffic Safety Initiatives
- From the Eighth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program -

1 Basic thinking

To implement air-traffic safety measures progressively to reduce aircraft accidents and

to prevent safety problems that could lead to accidents.

2 Objective

To continue the record of zero fatal accidents among specified national air carriers² that has held since 1986.

3 Measures

(1) Perspective

There is an urgent need to restore the people's trust in the safety of air transport by halting the series of problems that can be regarded as predictors of accidents.

Problems of congestion and delays at airports and in the air are becoming more serious with the growing concentration of air traffic. Given forecasts of further increases in air-traffic volume going forward, there is an urgent need to establish safer and more efficient air-traffic systems in the air while expanding airport capacity, starting with extensions to Haneda Airport.

(2) Measures to be implemented

• {1} Enhancement of air-traffic environment

  In order to address growing air-transport volume while ensuring air-traffic safety, the government will take steps to install future air navigation systems and progressively upgrade airspace and en-route to enhance the level of air-traffic control utilizing these systems.

• {2} Safe operation of aircraft

  The government aims to ensure safe operation of aircraft by such actions as establishing a dedicated department to audit airlines and by switching to a preventive-safety approach instead of one that deals with problems after the fact. Furthermore, it will press for the creation of a safety-management apparatus involving all levels from top management to crew and will introduce a Safety Management Assessment program, which it will use to confirm the process as part of the effort to ensure the safe operation of aircraft.

• {3} Ensuring aircraft safety

  The government will ensure aircraft safety by pressing airlines to adopt safety measures such as upgrading technical standards, improving collection and processing of information, and improving inspection functions.

• {4} Improving rescue and emergency services systems

  The government will upgrade its rescue and emergency role to ensure a rapid and appropriate response to aircraft disasters and accidents and bolster collaboration among pertinent organizations.

• {5} Victim support

  The government will bolster support for victims seeking compensation and advance measures that recognize the emotional condition of victims. In cases of major accidents, the police, medical institutions, local-government organizations and private victim-support organizations will cooperate to support victims.

• {6} Improving capabilities in research and development and investigation and analysis The government will carry out research and development on air-traffic safety and investigation and analysis to identify causes of aircraft accidents and promptly reflect the findings in safety measures aimed at strengthening air-traffic safety.