TheJapan Railways Group, commonly known as theJR Group (Jeiāru Gurūpu) or simplyJR, is a network of railway companies inJapan formed after thedivision andprivatization of the government-ownedJapanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987.[1] The group comprises six regionalpassenger railway companies, onefreight railway company, and two non-service entities. TheJNR Settlement Corporation assumed much of the debt of the former JNR.
The companies of the JR Group operates a significant portion of Japan’s rail services, including intercity routes, commuter lines, and theShinkansen high-speed rail network.
JR Hokkaido,JR Shikoku, andJR Freight (JRF) are governed by theAct for the Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company [ja][2], also known as the JR Companies Act, and are overseen by the publicJapan Railway Construction, Transport, and Technology Agency (JRTT). In contrast,JR East,JR Central,JR West, andJR Kyushu are fully privatized and publicly traded.
Due to JR’s origins as a government-run entity, Japanese rail users often distinguish JR lines (including some now operated bythird-sector entities) from otherprivate railways. This distinction is typically reflected in the way JR and other private railways are labeled on maps.[3]
By the 1970s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases had failed to keep up with higher labor costs.[4]
The JR Group companies were formed out of theprivatization of theJapanese National Railways in 1987.[5][6]
The seven JR companies recorded a total profit of ¥ 88.9 million in 1988.[7]
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In 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate: initially, the government retained ownership of the companies. Privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By October 2016, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had been offered to the market and they are now publicly traded. On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still owned byJapan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, anindependent administrative institution of the state.
All the JR Group companies operating in theHonshū region are constituents of theNikkei 225 andTOPIX 100 indexes.
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Hokkaido
East
Central
West
Shikoku
Kyushu
The Japan Railways Group consists of seven operating companies and two other companies that do not provide rail service. The operating companies are organized into six passenger operators and a nationwide freight operator. Unlike some other groups of companies, the JR Group is made up of independent companies, and it does not have group headquarters or aholding company to set the overall business policy.[citation needed]
The six passenger railways of the JR Group are separated by region. Nearly all their services are within the prescribed geographic area. However, some long-distance operations extend beyond the boundaries. TheShirasagi train service betweenNagoya andKanazawa, for instance, uses JR West rolling stock but the segment of track between Nagoya andMaibara is owned by JR Central, whose crew manage the train on that section.[citation needed]
Japan Freight Railway Company operates allfreight service on the network previously owned by JNR.[citation needed]
In addition, the group includes two non-operating companies. These are theRailway Technical Research Institute and Railway Information Systems Co., Ltd.[citation needed]
To cover various non-railway business areas, each regional operator in the JR Group has its own group of subsidiary companies with names like "JR East Group" and "JR Shikoku Group".
| Business | Logo and color | Company | Type | Fully privatized | Traded as | Region(s) of operation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger | Grass | Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) | Kabushiki gaisha | — | — | Hokkaidō | OperatesHokkaidō Shinkansen |
Forest | East Japan Railway Company (JR East) | 2002 |
| Tōhoku,Kantō,Hokuriku,Kōshin'etsu | OperatesTōhoku,Yamagata,Akita andJōetsu Shinkansen Lines, along withHokuriku Shinkansen with JR West | ||
Pumpkin | Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) | 2006 | Chūbu | OperatesTōkaidō Shinkansen | |||
Ocean | West Japan Railway Company (JR West) | 2004 |
| Hokuriku,Kansai,Chūgoku,Kyūshū | OperatesSanyō Shinkansen andHokuriku Shinkansen (with JR East) | ||
Sky | Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) | — | — | Shikoku | |||
Scarlet | Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) | 2016 | Kyūshū | OperatesKyūshū Shinkansen | |||
| Freight | .svg){kind=logo} Slate | Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) | — | — | Nationwide | ||
| IT Services |  Burgundy | Railway Information Systems [ja] (JR Systems) | — | — | Nationwide | Develops, operates and manages computer systems, includingMARS (ticket reservation system)[8] Jointly owned by the railway operating companies[9] | |
| Research & Development |  Lavender | Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) | Public Interest Incorporated Foundation [ja] | — | — | Nationwide | Conducts research and development of railway-related technologies, such asSCMaglev[10] Non-profit organization funded by the railway operating companies[10] |
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JR maintains a nationwide railway network as well as common ticketing rules that it inherited from JNR. Passengers may travel across several JR companies without changing trains and without purchasing separate tickets. However, trains running across the boundaries of JR companies have been reduced.
JR maintains the same ticketing rules based on the JNR rules and has an integrated reservation system known asMARS (jointly developed withHitachi). Some types of tickets (passes), such asJapan Rail Pass andSeishun 18 Ticket, are issued as "valid for all JR lines" and accepted by all passenger JR companies.
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Various unions represent workers at the different JR Group companies, such as theNational Railway Workers' Union,All Japan Construction, Transport and General Workers' Union,Doro-Chiba, and theJapan Confederation of Railway Workers' Unions.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division. –Japan
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