Sapporo –

A central government-mandated cap on overtime hours has come into effect for Japan’s trucking industry, leading to decreased revenue among Hokkaido transportation firms and concerns for the future on how prefectural goods, especially seafood and agricultural products, will reach consumers around the country.

Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu and being forced to cover long distances across Japan’s second-largest island and largest prefecture in terms of landmass — almost 40 times the size of Tokyo and nearly equivalent to Austria — it has never been easy to be a Hokkaido trucker.

Narrow roads in many parts of the prefecture often mean slow-moving traffic, while winter blizzards can make driving on icy roads dangerous or force road closures. Both issues can mean trucks arrive later, sometimes much later, than scheduled.

“It’s difficult to move goods by truck smoothly across Hokkaido. We’re not the same as Honshu in terms of the number of expressways, as they are fewer in number,” said Hokkaido Trucking Association chairman Kenichi Matsuhashi.

Delivering Hokkaido goods to the major cities of Honshu is also an issue for trucking companies. The one tunnel connecting Hokkaido to Honshu, the Seikan Tunnel, is reserved for trains. Hokkaido truckers must therefore often unload cargo at terminals within the prefecture, where it is then shipped by ferry from ports such as Hakodate, Tomakomai, Otaru, Kushiro and Nemuro to other parts of the country, adding to the time and expense.

Getting the job done therefore requires truckers who are sometimes willing to put in long overtime hours. But even that is now problematic.

In April 2024, a mandatory cap that limits paid overtime to 960 hours annually for those working in the trucking industry went into effect. Giving rise to what has been dubbed the “2024 problem” in the media, the cap has sparked concerns nationwide — but especially in Hokkaido.

To get a grip on the state of the local trucking industry, the Hokkaido Trucking Association carried out a general survey in September and October last year, looking at issues including how the so-called 2024 problem has impacted business.

Among the 740 Hokkaido firms that responded to the survey, there was about a 50-50 split on whether the overtime cap was having an impact.

Of the firms that saw an impact, 25.4% had experienced a revenue decline, while 21.9% said the cap had led to an increase in personnel costs, and 14.2% admitted drivers’ wages had decreased.

How should firms deal with the declines, given the restrictions on driver overtime? Asked what kinds of policy changes and financial assistance would be beneficial, the ability to secure and train new drivers received the biggest share of votes among 10 suggested options — making up 23.6% of the total.

One possible way to make life easier and attract more people to the industry is to increase the number of michi no eki (roadside rest stations) within the prefecture that can accommodate trucks.

There are about 120 roadside rest areas in Hokkaido, and they are connected to national highways, Matsuhashi said. This means truck drivers can use them if they wish.

“But, basically, they’re for passenger cars, and don’t have specialized places where trucks can park without worrying about limited space to pull in or out of,” he added.

Other solutions may include looking outside of the usual recruitment base.

“We want to bring in foreign drivers, but there are problems with language, and road accidents will occur if they don’t understand the rules of the road and traffic regulations, so we need facilities for training them," Matsuhashi said. "In addition, we also need more female drivers."