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| Fig. 1: Contemporary Tokaido Shinkansen of Japan. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
The Shinkansen, a high-speed bullet train network in Japan, is a public transit method connecting the distant regions of Japan with one another. In particular, the Tokaido Shinkansen line is a famed route connecting Tokyo to Osaka, the two largest cities in the country among other popular destinations within the route (shown in Fig. 1). JR Central, the governing body of this route, encompasses the entirety of business and operations for the Tokaido Shinkansen line. This report aims to calculate the energy consumption (Joules) and CO₂ emissions (tons CO₂) of JR Central in order to achieve a full scope of the Tokaido Shinkansen's Impact.
In order to understand the impact of the Tokaido Shinkansen line on Japan's energy demands and environmental impact, both business-related and route operations must be accounted for. The JR Central integrated report of 2022 provides estimates for both energy consumption and CO2 emitted for these operations [2]. For energy, reports estimated JR central consumption to be 2,690 million kWh, with a scale factor of 1 kWh = 3.6 × 106 J, this amounts to 9.684 × 1015 J.
Comparing these metrics to the entirety of the transportation sector, data calculated by Japan's Natural Resources and Energy Agency provides estimates of the yearly energy consumption within the transportation sector. [3] The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office of Japan estimates the associated emissions with this energy consumption each year, both metrics valued in Table 1. [4]
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| Table 1: Comparison of the Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions Between Operations of the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Transport Sector of Japan. [2] |
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| Fig. 2: Distribution of Passenger Transportation Volume, Energy Consumption, and CO2 Emissions in Japan. [3] (Image Source: K. Lamp) |
The Tokaido Shinkansen operates at a small budget of Japan's transportation sector energy consumption and environmental impact. The energy consumed by the Tokaido Shinkansen and its operations amounts to .359% of the total transportation energy demand and .659% of the total CO2 emissions. Evidently, the Tokaido Shinkansen is of little relevance in the context of Japan's role in climate change. However, passenger transportation volume should be further encouraged to utilize the Shinkansen system because of its efficiency in these metrics. Fig. 2 shows the efficiency of Japan's railway system, and furthers the conversation by highlighting the need to reduce automobile usage to limit energy demand and vehicle emissions. With 83% and 80% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions respectively, automobiles are the greatest culprit in prohibiting Japan from enhancing green standards in the transportation industry. Since railways amount to Shinkansen and city trains, from these findings, greater utilization of Japan's electric railway network and the Tokaido Shinkansen should be encouraged. In order to mitigate the effects of transportation in Japan on climate change and increasing energy demands, enabling electric vehicle growth, while also encouraging railway usage would facilitate a fundamental framework for diminishing the negative impacts of Japan's transport industry.
© Kevin Lamp. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Integrated Report 2022," Central Japan Railway Company, 2022.
[2] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022," British Petroleum, June 2022.
[3] "Energy Supply and Demand Report," Japan Agency For Natural Resources and Energy, April 2021, p. 19.
[4] "National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report of Japan," National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, CGER-1164-2023, 2023.
