Japan Defers Decision on Planned Hokuriku Shinkansen Route

Jiji Press

15:31 JST, December 21, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A panel of Japan’s ruling bloc decided Friday to postpone a decision on the detailed route of the planned section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line that would connect Tsuruga and Shin-Osaka stations.

The panel had sought to reach the decision by year-end but gave up the idea in consideration for concerns among Kyoto Prefecture and other municipalities about the expected major financial burden and the environmental impact of the construction.

The postponement will make it difficult to begin the construction by the end of fiscal 2024 next March as the ruling bloc hopes.

The transport ministry also aborted a plan to include related construction costs in the upcoming fiscal 2025 budget.

The section would connect the city of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, and Osaka City, where Shin-Osaka Station sits, via Obama, Fukui Prefecture, and Kyoto.

The ruling bloc panel will consider two detailed route options for the so-called Obama-Kyoto route after it dropped one whose construction is likely to cause a major impact on groundwater.