The iconic Shinkansen rail network has announced its ‘first serious incident’ in forty years as it discovered a crack on one of its trains. This follows from a spate of quality manipulation scandals from major Japanese businesses in recent months.
Last week, crew aboard a Tokyo-bound train detected a burning smell. Further investigation did not reveal any series issues and the train continued its onward journey from the southern prefecture of Fukuoka. However, upon leaving Kyoto station, an oil leak was discovered.
The trains cruise at over 150 mph. Were the crack to remain undetected, investigators believe, the frame of the entire carriage could have broken, causing the train to derail.
The service was cancelled and 1,000 passengers transferred to other links.
“It is an extremely serious incident,” said Norihiko Yoshie, Japan Rail's vice-president at a press conference on Tuesday. “It is an accident that betrays the trust over the safety of Shinkansen”.
This story would not make the news in most other countries. But in Japan this is a major development and the investigation uncovers the services first ever serious incident in forty years of operation.
The Shinkansen lines were opened in 1964 and their sleek design and high speeds lead to the ‘bullet train’ nickname that has spread across the world.
Shinkansen embodies the spirit of Japan’s obsession to detail. No fatalities have been recorded on the line. Its punctuality is beyond comprehension for most other rail operators: the lateness of overdue trains is measured in seconds.
The success of the Shinkansen has galvanised Japanese soft power and encapsulated the nation’s engineering prowess. It has influenced many other infrastructural projects throughout Asia and the world. For example Japan is in the running to build a high-speed line between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
The Japanese corporate world has been convulsed by dramatic revelations from some of the country’s biggest names. We have witnesses cases of falsifying data from Mitsubishi Materials, Toray and Kobe Steel.
Earlier today, we saw new disclosures. Mitsubishi Materials uncovered further instances of doctoring specifications. In this case, it has revealed that is cable unit shipped magnetic wires to five customers using distorted data.
In a second disclosure today, Subaru has announced a more stringent inspection regime following outed dubious practices leading to a product recall. The CEO and executive team will decline part of their pay until March 2018 when the leadership vows to have resolved the problems.
Following the Shinkansen story, it appears the corporate scandals of upstream producers are beginning to impact downstream operators.
Currently, there is no direct linking of the episode with the Shinkansen and all these previous cases, but it seems that the Japanese business establishment is keen to expunge all the skeletons in the cupboard in one coordinated move.
We can expect future announcement, perhaps for enterprises further down the supply chain, in the weeks and months to come. It will be hard to resist the temptation of linking the stories.
