Consortium to enter talks with Japan land ministry on privately operating seven Hokkaido airports
A consortium of companies is to enter exclusive talks with the land ministry over operating New Chitose and six other airports in Hokkaido, the ministry said Wednesday. The move is part of plans to privatize the operations of New Chitose, Wakkanai, Kushiro, Hakodate, Asahikawa, Obihiro ...
JR Hokkaido confronts the harsh realities of financing rail lines in depopulated areas
Privatization of public enterprises is a core tenet of neoliberalism, and probably the most representative domestic development in this regard was the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1987. The resulting rail companies, distinguished primarily by region, have demonstrated differing degrees of success. ...
In a first, French MPs trigger referendum on privatizing Paris airports
French opposition MPs and senators claimed a victory for democracy Wednesday after using a little-known constitutional article to try to trigger a referendum on the government's controversial plans to privatize Paris' airports. In a rare display of non-partisanship, lawmakers straddling the spectrum from the far ...
With water privatization, Japan faces crossroads in battling its aging pipes
Japanese water is clean and readily available, as evidenced by drinkable tap water and a nearly 100 percent penetration rate. But perhaps less known is the dire decay that has slowly chipped away at its infrastructure, casting doubt on its sustainability. To address this, the Diet ...
Hidden beneath its streets, Japan's aging sewer pipes spotlight a challenge that has held back reforms Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing to revitalize the world's third-biggest economy. Overhauling the country's infrastructure — roads, tunnels, ports and sewage plants, many of them built after the ...
The sale of the rights to run Kansai International Airport to a private consortium could serve as a role model for other money-losing public-infrastructure operations if efficiency and profitability improves.
The opening of sales Wednesday of shares in Japan Post, whose origins date back to 1871, has been a decade in the making. The initial public offering will make it the biggest IPO in the world this year — the biggest, in fact, since Alibaba ...
With massive IPO of Japan Post, the nation seeks to shake decades of torpor
As Japan prepares this week for the biggest initial public offering in the world since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in September 2014, the government hopes that the ¥1.5 trillion privatization of the postal service will help revive the country from its 20-year slump. Prime Minister ...
Aichi city nixes 'Tsutaya Library' project amid public opposition
The city of Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, has officially scrapped a plan to build a next-generation public library in collaboration with video rental giant Tsutaya after the majority of its residents voted it down in a referendum earlier this month. The city announced Tuesday that it ...
Government aims to privatize National Stadium after 2020 Olympics to trim costs
The central government plans to privatize the National Stadium to be built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the sports event ends, hoping to reduce the running costs it would have to pay, government sources said Tuesday. The idea was included in the outline of ...
The government decided Friday to put Kyushu Railway Co. under full private ownership in fiscal 2016. The government decided to pursue full privatization because JR Kyushu has achieved good business results in the fields of real estate and hotels, the officials said. JR Kyushu is one ...
Pay attention to the resiliency of public assets
As a long-term priority, developed countries must build public assets to have the resilience and flexibility to respond to structural change over time.
