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> Japan already has hysterically inefficient allocation of capital. Examples include the vast amounts of pork barrel spending to build highways, tunnels, bridge

> Japan already has hysterically inefficient allocation of capital. Examples include the vast amounts of pork barrel spending to build highways, tunnels, bridges and bullet trains to nowhere, as well as building new housing with an expected lifespan of 20-40 years so it can be torn down and rebuilt afterwards. That "inefficient allocation of capital" results in Japan being one of the best countries to move around in (for both residents and tourists), with very affordable housing. I'd prefer if my country was a bit less "efficient" with their capital allocation. The housing being torn down thing is a bit of a cliche at this point, but the biggest factor there was some seriously under-calculated earthquake risk that only got incorporated into the building code in the early 80s[1], so for buildings built before that cheapest to demo and rebuild. [1] https://japanpropertycentral.com/real-estate-faq/earthquake-building-codes-in-japan/ https://japanpropertycentral.com/real-estate-faq/earthquake-...

dustintrex 5y ago
Sure, nobody's judging investing in the Yamanote Line or the Tokaido Shinkansen. But is it really sensible to plow money into (say) the Hokkaido Shinkansen, on Japan's most rapidly depopulating island and not remotely competitive with flights in travel time or price; the Tsuruga extension to a city of 60,000; the greenfield Noto Airport that can't support two flights a day without heavy subsidies; and a million minor construction projects damming up rivers and coating the coast in concrete tetrapods? Japan is already struggling to pay the maintenance bill for what they have.
- SECProto 5y ago
  > But is it really sensible to plow money into (say) the Hokkaido Shinkansen, on Japan's most rapidly depopulating island and not remotely competitive with flights in travel time or price Yes. Sapporo has a population of 2 million; many of the rest of people going to Tokyo from the rest of Hokkaido will travel via Sapporo Station regardless (I know I always did - multi hour bus or train ride to Sapporo station, then another train to New Chitose, then flight to wherever). The flight route is incredibly busy (from one source, "The route between Sapporo and Haneda was the busiest in Japan and the second busiest domestic route in the world in 2019"). Work trips will likely pay for train rather than flights, while tourists mostly use JR passes and will choose the train as it's "free". Carbon intensity of electric shinkansen is dramatically lower than the excessive number of flights going between Tokyo and Sapporo. It'll be 4.5 hours city centre to city centre, which is easily competitive with flights unless you happen to live in Chitose and be heading to Chiba or Yokohama. > the Tsuruga extension to a city of 60,000 This is disingenuous: the extension is an intermediate phase connecting Nagano (low population but huge winter tourism) with Kyoto/Osaka (idk, 25 million? and massive tourist destination). > the greenfield Noto Airport that can't support two flights a day without heavy subsidies Per the wiki article [1], it seems like the airport has been reasonably even (ANA subsidizing airport sometimes, prefectural govt subsidizing at other times). A lot of local governments in other areas (including north america) also subsidize their airports to ensure accessibility for residents. > and a million minor construction projects damming up rivers and coating the coast in concrete tetrapods They aren't all tetrapodal! Their work in this area is pretty singlemindedly focused on reducing flood/tsunami risk, with 0 concern for environmental effects. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_Airport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_Airport

dustintrex 5y ago

Sure, nobody's judging investing in the Yamanote Line or the Tokaido Shinkansen. But is it really sensible to plow money into (say) the Hokkaido Shinkansen, on Japan's most rapidly depopulating island and not remotely competitive with flights in travel time or price; the Tsuruga extension to a city of 60,000; the greenfield Noto Airport that can't support two flights a day without heavy subsidies; and a million minor construction projects damming up rivers and coating the coast in concrete tetrapods? Japan is already struggling to pay the maintenance bill for what they have.

SECProto 5y ago
> But is it really sensible to plow money into (say) the Hokkaido Shinkansen, on Japan's most rapidly depopulating island and not remotely competitive with flights in travel time or price Yes. Sapporo has a population of 2 million; many of the rest of people going to Tokyo from the rest of Hokkaido will travel via Sapporo Station regardless (I know I always did - multi hour bus or train ride to Sapporo station, then another train to New Chitose, then flight to wherever). The flight route is incredibly busy (from one source, "The route between Sapporo and Haneda was the busiest in Japan and the second busiest domestic route in the world in 2019"). Work trips will likely pay for train rather than flights, while tourists mostly use JR passes and will choose the train as it's "free". Carbon intensity of electric shinkansen is dramatically lower than the excessive number of flights going between Tokyo and Sapporo. It'll be 4.5 hours city centre to city centre, which is easily competitive with flights unless you happen to live in Chitose and be heading to Chiba or Yokohama. > the Tsuruga extension to a city of 60,000 This is disingenuous: the extension is an intermediate phase connecting Nagano (low population but huge winter tourism) with Kyoto/Osaka (idk, 25 million? and massive tourist destination). > the greenfield Noto Airport that can't support two flights a day without heavy subsidies Per the wiki article [1], it seems like the airport has been reasonably even (ANA subsidizing airport sometimes, prefectural govt subsidizing at other times). A lot of local governments in other areas (including north america) also subsidize their airports to ensure accessibility for residents. > and a million minor construction projects damming up rivers and coating the coast in concrete tetrapods They aren't all tetrapodal! Their work in this area is pretty singlemindedly focused on reducing flood/tsunami risk, with 0 concern for environmental effects. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_Airport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_Airport