Minister Ibayashi’s Press Conference
Overview
Transport Minister Tatsunori Ibayashi addressed questions about advance ticket sales and awareness of the Yokohama Green Expo, local briefings on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the U.S. response concerning the Japan Airlines Flight 123 aircraft, and ANA’s plan to make a joint holding company a wholly owned subsidiary. Preparations and public outreach for the Expo are moving ahead, while the government continues environmental impact assessments, consideration of construction requirements, and briefings to local authorities for the Shinkansen. The minister said no further checks on the aircraft were being considered and declined to comment on the airline’s individual business decision, while expressing hope for efforts to maintain Japan’s domestic air network and improve convenience for passengers.
Key points
- Advance tickets have sold about 2.9 million against a target of 10 million. The minister described sales as proceeding smoothly.
- Awareness in Tokyo rose from 34% in August to 45% in September.
- For the Katsuragawa proposal on the Obama–Kyoto route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is considering construction requirements and briefing local authorities.
- The minister said no further checks were being considered into the background of the aircraft repair error and declined to comment on ANA’s individual business policy.
Overview
The press conference covered four topics: the Yokohama Green Expo, the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the Japan Airlines Flight 123 aircraft, and ANA’s additional investment and plan to make a subsidiary. At the outset, the minister said there were no particular items to report from the Cabinet meeting.
Impact
The minister said aviation stakeholders would work together to ensure safety, preserve the lessons of the accident, and build even greater safety.
Under a policy that also allows coordination and cooperation among airlines as options, the minister expressed hope for progress on efforts to maintain the domestic air network and improve convenience for passengers.
Details
On the 25th, the minister inspected the planned venue with the mayor of Yokohama, the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, and a parliamentary vice-minister, and confirmed that construction was proceeding smoothly. Reservations for visit dates and times began in September. The government is conducting intensive promotion in central Tokyo and the wider metropolitan area in cooperation with the Green Expo Association and others, with support from transport operators, developers, and retailers. December marks 100 days until the opening; the government will publicize exhibition and event highlights and ask local authorities to spread the word through municipal magazines and other channels.
For the Tsuruga–Shin-Osaka section, the ruling coalition presented the Katsuragawa proposal on the Obama–Kyoto route in July this year as a plan to meet the five conditions for starting construction. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will proceed with environmental impact assessments in light of the circumstances of the local authorities concerned and deepen its consideration of the five construction conditions during the FY2027 budget preparation process. At a briefing for local authorities in Kyoto Prefecture, officials focused on effects on groundwater and received requests for continued explanations and information sharing about construction challenges.
Since August last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has inquired of Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration about the facts. Boeing said it had nothing to add to the information publicly available from the FAA, and the FAA likewise replied that the information on its website was complete and that it had no additional information. The minister said that, following careful verification, no further checks were being considered, and declined to comment on differences between the Japanese and U.S. legal systems.
ANA announced plans to make the joint holding company of Air Do and Solaseed Air a wholly owned subsidiary. The minister declined to comment on individual management decisions. A panel of experts’ May report treated competition among airlines as the principle while also identifying coordination and cooperation as options. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said it would advance necessary measures while maintaining an appropriate competitive environment.