Japan pitched its safety record to Malaysia at a high-speed rail symposium Friday as it plays catch-up with China in chasing a lucrative project to link Kuala Lumpur with Singapore by train.

The symposium, hosted for the second year in a row by the Japanese government, was attended by Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and Japan's Junzo Yamamoto, a senior vice minister in the transport ministry.

"Safety is the biggest characteristic of the shinkansen," Yamamoto said in his speech at the symposium, "It has maintained an impeccable record with zero fatalities in its 50 years of operation."