By Eri Furukawa
On April 25, the news about the train derailment accident at Amagasaki, Hyogo prefecture shocked the nation. In this catastrophe, 107 people were killed and more than 450 people were injured. This accident had a big impact on JR West, JR East, and all other passenger transportation services. This accident reminded us of the responsibility for public transportation and the importance of safety.
The main factor of this accident was the deadly speed. At first it seemed the accident was caused by driver error. However, the true cause was a defect in the train's function and the rail's automatic braking system. The biggest and clearest problems are the attitude and policy of JR West.
Eighteen years ago, Masataka Ide, the then president of JR West, set an income-oriented policy as the goal when JR West was privatized from the former Japan National Railroad Company. Various policies were made for the new private company in order to become profitable. However, JR West created a congested timetable with strict punctuality rules which led drivers to run at unsafe speeds. Until now, the most important thing to them seemed to be profits and good labor relations, but not the importance of safety.
The most noteworthy problem in this accident is the in-house re-education program during daytime working hours that caused most JR West drivers to become "speed freaks." This is the most disconcerting aspect of JR Westﾕs policy. The company is now paying for its enforcement of an income-oriented policy. Unfortunately, the drivers were forced to drive trains before acquiring safe and sure driving techniques in order to save personnel costs. If they made a mistake, however, they had to undergo a re-education program that included such work as cleaning toilets and weeding. This inhuman and heartless program brings cold shivers up and down the spine. This system is more punishment than education. The driver of the ill-fated train underwent re-education three times in five years. It is natural that he became very anxious of this re-education program.
Moreover, superiors in plain clothes had their eyes on the drivers in a seat somewhere behind them. This was a system for watching them called "secret observation." If we are to suppose that these two systems were practiced regularly, they must have given the drivers a considerable psychological burden. Both of the programs are very dreadful.
This case resembles such incidents as Kokudo, Mitsubishi, the Japan Highway Public Corporation, and the Hokkaido Police Department to name just a few. Those in authority defended the company or office and concealed the truth while pursuing profit-oriented policies. In such organizations it is the arbitrary judgment of the superiors that run them without paying attention to subordinates' opinions or working conditions. Consequently, their subordinates became high-performance robots which couldn't move without the commands of their superiors.
When we learned of this system, many were very sad because this isn't like democracy, but totalitarianism. Though any company has more or less much inhumane managing policy, JR West is different from other companies because its important mission concerns the public's lives. So, first of all, they ought to deal with their employees in humanistic way.
This accident may have presented unexpected problems. The nation should not just criticize JR West, but also watch carefully similar cases in Japan. It is time to also consider the responsibilities of the competent authorities. JR West has submitted its report to the transport minister intending to improve safety, but this is not the end of the case. It will take a long time to investigate and needs more than just a quick fix. The media as well as the nation should follow this case as it continues to unfold.