Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu is the world's biggest NIMBY. He's practically single-handedly been holding up the building of a $60 billion maglev that is Japan's most ambitious construction project. Now that he's set to retire after putting his foot in his mouth once more, it's time to get the 500kph maglev back on track. My latest for Bloomberg Opinion https://lnkd.in/gH6Xqjhe
Azarel Chamorro
8mo
I would not label him as NIMBY since he just wanted to use the Maglev as a bargaining chip to finally get a Tokaido Shinkansen station under the Shizuoka Airport (something that has been declined by JR Tokai since decades ago). It is all about the political clique that Japan is divided.
Ken Nannichi
7mo
For JR Tokai and the government, Governor Kawakatsu was NIMBY. For people in Shizuoka, Kawakatsu’s concern about JR’s insufficient planning about damage to water supplies has hit the chord. Now, the LDP is trying to get a former bureaucrat elected as the new (and possibly puppet) governor.
Edo 慧人 Naito 内藤
8mo
After years of delays and billions in extra costs for us to pay for his whims, Tamaki would be #2.
Nick Gibson
8mo
Here here
Representative Director & President / 代表取締役 at TS Japan Railway Travel Planning Company Limited / ＴＳ日本鉄道旅行企画株式会社
8moA new shinkansen line can be disastrous for places that are bypassed by it (as much as those placed served benefit)....how many foreign tourists even know about the many places in Shizuoka and Shiga Prefecture they are whizzing past on their way to overcrowded Kyoto...or when the Chuo Shinkansen finally opens (I bet on the Hokkaido shinkansen opening before the Chuo Shinkansen) that people will be travelling under what is one of the most scenic areas of Japan... I will not argue for / against the benefits to a ultra fast (but huge energy consuming) line, but there are winners and losers and Japan actually needs to do more to get tourists off the shinkansen and exploring more of what Japan has to offer rather than just speeding between the big cities