Overview of the 2026 White Paper on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | Chapter 72026 MLIT White Paper: Strengthening Transport, Logistics and Industry

This chapter views the foundations supporting a competitive economic society as a series of interconnected policy issues involving transport networks, logistics, related industries, public works and the construction industry. It links road, rail and air infrastructure development with interregional mobility, medical care, disaster response, exchange and economic revitalization, while addressing transport capacity constraints and labor shortages in logistics through standardization, DX and GX, and industrial structural reform.

For roads, the initiatives include eliminating unconnected areas and enabling the entire network to function effectively; for Shinkansen lines, developing sections in Hokkaido, Hokuriku and Kyushu, including sections not yet completed; and for aviation, seeking annual takeoff and landing capacity of approximately 1 million flights at airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Industrial policy positions responses to population decline and aging, natural disasters, international developments and decarbonization as conditions for growth and security, rather than focusing solely on demand recovery.

For residents, road, Shinkansen, airport and port development is expected to shorten travel times and improve access to medical care and tourism, alternative transport during disasters, and interregional exchange. At the same time, strengthening airport functions requires continuing measures against noise and falling objects, information provision to communities, and coexistence with local communities.

For companies, more efficient logistics, secure international trunk routes and air networks, and the formation of hubs around ports and airports create opportunities to improve transport stability and locational competitiveness. Conversely, companies must incorporate responses to transport constraints, fuel costs, labor shortages, business practices and international developments into their operations.

Policy implementation requires combining infrastructure development with charges, tax measures, subsidies, certification, oversight and information disclosure, while sustaining cooperation among the public and private sectors, communities, industry, academia and government, and relevant ministries. Policy evaluation will focus on institutional operation that secures personnel and improves wages, resilience to disasters and emergencies, and the achievement of both decarbonization and higher productivity.

Roads have been developed as trunk routes since the First Five-Year Road Improvement Plan in 1954. Going forward, under the WISENET2050 Policy Package, ETC2.0 will be used to capture large volumes of information and route data, while smart tolling in the Tokyo, Kinki and Chukyo metropolitan areas and pinpoint congestion measures using speed, acceleration and deceleration data will be advanced. Additional lanes and similar measures within existing road widths have begun operating at 14 locations, and countermeasures have been implemented at 13 locations.

Shinkansen development is proceeding on the Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to Sapporo section of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, the Tsuruga to Shin-Osaka section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, and the Shin-Tosu to Takeo-Onsen section of the Kyushu Shinkansen, making use of its safety and environmental performance. There are 11 basic-plan routes nationwide. In the Hokkaido Shinkansen project, scrutiny is being conducted in response to the risk of a maximum 1.2 trillion yen increase in project costs, while trains operate at 260 kilometers per hour in the Seikan Tunnel under specified conditions.

In aviation, Haneda Airport began operating new flight routes in March 2020, expanding international takeoff and landing capacity by approximately 40,000 flights per year. Narita Airport aims for 500,000 flights per year by extending Runway B and constructing Runway C. Kansai International Airport is working toward 300,000 flights per year and began operating new flight routes in March 2025, while Chubu Centrair International Airport is advancing an alternate runway and full 24-hour operation.

In logistics, the application of limits on truck drivers' overtime work in April 2024 triggered the designation of the period through fiscal 2030 as a concentrated reform period. Measures include a new modal shift, relay transport, more efficient last-mile delivery, automated trucks, reviews of business practices, and changes in the behavior of shippers and consumers, while supply constraints are addressed through logistics DX and GX and standardization.

Regional logistics will use additions of sections to important logistics roads, sections where special permits are not required for 40-foot high-cube international maritime container trucks, double-trailer trucks, drone delivery and smart ICs. As of the end of March 2025, regulations requiring loading and unloading parking facilities for collective housing applied in 90 cities, and automated logistics roads aim to begin partial advance operation between Tokyo and Osaka by the mid-2030s.

In international logistics, Keihin Port and Hanshin Port are being developed as International Container Strategic Ports to promote cargo aggregation, cargo creation and stronger competitiveness. Large-vessel terminals, CONPAS, remotely operated RTGs and AI Terminals that support people are being developed, while stable transport of resources, energy and food, export-oriented cold-chain logistics, demonstrations of alternative transport routes and public-private cooperation are being advanced.

In industry, railway passenger transport volume in fiscal 2024 was approximately 21 billion passengers, and passenger-kilometers were approximately 352.8 billion passenger-kilometers. Production value was 185.5 billion yen for newly manufactured railway vehicles, 392.9 billion yen for vehicle parts and 150.2 billion yen for signaling and safety equipment. Aviation transport results in fiscal 2024 were 108.77 million domestic passengers and 21.16 million international passengers.

To address labor shortages, the number of bus drivers increased from approximately 108,000 in fiscal 2022 to approximately 114,000 in fiscal 2023, while the number of taxi drivers increased from approximately 215,000 to approximately 217,000. Average annual pay increased from 3.99 million yen in 2022 to 4.63 million yen in 2024 for bus drivers, and from 3.61 million yen to 4.18 million yen for taxi drivers. There are approximately 63,000 truck operators, 99 percent of which are small and medium-sized enterprises.

In the maritime industry, 48 business-base strengthening plans involving 67 companies and 105 specified-vessel introduction plans involving 107 vessels have been certified cumulatively. The Shipbuilding Revival Fund aims to provide total support on the scale of 350 billion yen over the next 10 years. In fiscal 2024, coastal shipping transported 153.1 billion tonne-kilometers, handling approximately 40 percent of domestic freight transport and approximately 80 percent of basic industrial materials.

In real estate, fiscal 2024 sales accounted for 3.5 percent of all industries and the number of corporations accounted for 12.9 percent; the number of contracts for existing homes was 205,000. Real estate assets were approximately 3,399 trillion yen, and the target for the total value of assets such as REITs through 2030 is approximately 40 trillion yen. In public works, the number of organizations that had not introduced anti-dumping measures decreased from 95 in November 2019 to 58 in June 2025.