Tag - jr-east

 
Menu
Search
 
November 20, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

JR EAST

JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 16, 2025
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
Since Suica’s introduction in 2001, the penguin has featured on transit cards and apps that are used daily by the tens of millions who traverse the world’s largest metropolis.
Mobile Suica is being improved so that it is more useful in an increasingly cashless society.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
Penguin-less Suica to take on PayPay in payments with QR codes and higher limits
Balance limits will go from ¥20,000 on the current e-money system to ¥300,000.
JR East's Shinkansen inspection train East-i
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2025
JR East to introduce new inspection shinkansen in fiscal 2029
The next-generation model's design will be finalized around next summer after ideas are sought from employees across JR East group companies.
Trains decorated to resemble the 103 (left) and 205 series of trains that formerly ran on the Yamanote Line, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2025
Retro-wrapped trains mark 100th anniversary of Tokyo's Yamanote Line
The two commemorative trains, featuring designs from the 103 and 205 series trains, are scheduled to run until Nov. 3.
GranTokyo South Tower (center). East Japan Railway has bought the 14th to 18th floors of the office building at a price of more than ¥50 billion from Goldman Sachs Group.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2025
Goldman sells Tokyo office area to JR East for over ¥50 billion
The railway company bought the 14th to 18th floors of the GranTokyo South Tower office building, which is connected to Tokyo Station.
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
The train, called Train Suite Shiki-shima, was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, heading for the prefectures of Niigata and Nagano.
The expansion of the locker-to-hotel delivery service is expected to ease congestion on public transportation.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2025
Locker-to-hotel luggage delivery service expanding in Japan
The service was launched at major stations in Osaka last year and operators have recorded a rapid rise in usage.
East Japan Railway’s iconic Cassiopeia sleeper train arrives at Ueno Station in Tokyo Monday evening, completing its final journey.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Cassiopeia luxury sleeper train ends final run after 25 years
Originally launched in 1999, the Cassiopeia gained a loyal following for its fully double-decker design and upscale sleeper accommodations.
In addition to prepaid transportation integrated circuit (IC) cards, such as Suica and Pasmo, a growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Railway firms diversify ticket gate access methods
A growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
East Japan Railway will halt individual operations of E8 series Shinkansen trains until the cause of the trouble is identified.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
JR East to suspend E8 shinkansen trains for time being
On Tuesday, a malfunction led to a service suspension between Tokyo Station and Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture for about five and a half hours.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Regulatory Reform Promotion Council on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025
Japan may allow bus and railway firms to enter ride-hailing business
The council called for promoting ride-hailing services to address the nationwide transportation shortage and suggested a trial for bus and railway operators.
All services on East Japan Railway's Yamanote Line in Tokyo were suspended for early Friday morning due to wire trouble.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
Tokyo's Yamanote Line resumes suspended train operations
The loop line was suspended Friday morning due to wire trouble, affecting some 197,000 passengers.
Trainees from Indonesia and Vietnam learn about the mechanisms of train doors using a model at East Japan Railway's training center in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 14, 2025
JR East to start training foreign nationals under new skills program
JR East aims to train around 100 people each year, and more than 10 railway operators have already expressed interest in joining the initiative.
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2025
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
The suspensions come as JR East pushes ahead with its Haneda Airport Access Line project.
When a bomber holds a high-speed train to ransom, it’s left to conductor Kazuya Takaichi (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) and his colleagues to save the day in “Bullet Train Explosion.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2025
'Bullet Train Explosion’: High-speed disaster movie doesn’t get the pulse racing
Netflix’s most lavish Japanese movie to date whizzes by without doing much damage to the image of the high-speed rail it’s promoting.
A rendering of East Japan Railway's E10 series of bullet trains
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2025
Japan to give India E5 and E3 shinkansen for free
The E10 trains are expected to be put into service in the South Asian country in the early 2030s.
The Gateway Park at Takanawa Gateway City on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2025
JR's 'futuristic' Takanawa Gateway complex set to open in Tokyo
Takanawa Gateway City is a long-planned redevelopment project from JR East that integrates residential, commercial and cultural facilities.
Kochi and Tottori prefectures, in collaboration with major airline ANA Holdings, will begin offering airfare discounts through the introduction of a flat-rate system as early as October for individuals based in multiple locations.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2025
Japan picks model projects to promote 'dual habitation'
The land ministry has selected 26 model projects to promote a lifestyle in which people divide their time between rural and urban areas.
The Tohoku Shinkansen coupled trains at Tokyo Station on Friday
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025
JR East resumes coupled shinkansen operations
The company halted such train operations on the Tohoku line after a pair of coupled trains suddenly became detached while traveling in Tokyo.
The Hayabusa (left) and Komachi bullet trains seen making an emergency stop in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward on March 6 after becoming unfastened
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2025
Tohoku Shinkansen to resume coupled train operations on Friday
JR East suspended operating coupled trains after two bullet trains suddenly came unfastened last week.
Beware of China’s strategic distortion of reality
China holds a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3. 
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say
A sign reading, "Suspend the sales of all fish products imported from Japan" is displayed in an area home to Japanese restaurants in Beijing in August 2023. China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood, media reports in Tokyo said Wednesday, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay $3.2 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay $3.2 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ‘Scooooop’
Members of Band-Maid combine heavy riffs and maid-inspired visuals in their latest project, "Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty."
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER