Why Japan has such good railways • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#121

Post by Tiktaalik » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:43 PM UTC

savanaly wrote: post #78

ttul wrote: post #75

“Japan’s liberal land use regulation makes it straightforward to build new neighborhoods next to railway lines, giving commuters easy access to city centers. It also enables the densification of these centers, which means that commuters have more places they want to go.” This is the most important paragraph in the article. It can’t be overstated how ingenious Japan’s system of zoning is and how much this has benefitt…

>how ingenious Japan’s system of zoning is I'm only barely familiar with it so I ask this in good faith: is it really ingenious or is it just more permissive? My bias/priors are that the simpler and truer statement is: it can't be overstated how beneficial more permissive zoning laws are to a society.

There are other aspects beyond simply being more permissive. I recall reading for example that property transfer tax is remarkably less on bare land, enough so that when travelling in Japan you will regularly notice bare lots for sale, as it is beneficial for the seller to tear down a lot before they sell it. This sort of thing encourages churn of housing, and coupled with liberal zoning, enables an accelerated increase in denser building. Tbh it probably encourages lower construction costs since more people are doing construction.

IMO in this whole conversation, whether discussing any jurisdiction not just japan, impacts of zoning is an over emphasized and tax policy under emphasized (ie. almost never discussed).

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#122

Post by grishka » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC

DmitryO wrote: post #113

Russian or Chinese one way better.

When was the last time you had to travel between Moscow and St Petersburg? Sapsan trains are always sold out from my experience. And those night trains don't always fit your needs, although they are plentiful and dirt cheap. They are supposedly building a dedicated high-speed rail line, but I don't have much faith in that, especially in the current situation.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#123

Post by Spooky23 » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:50 PM UTC

antirez wrote: post #84

ttul wrote: post #75

“Japan’s liberal land use regulation makes it straightforward to build new neighborhoods next to railway lines, giving commuters easy access to city centers. It also enables the densification of these centers, which means that commuters have more places they want to go.” This is the most important paragraph in the article. It can’t be overstated how ingenious Japan’s system of zoning is and how much this has benefitt…

"West" when we talk about urban spaces, walk-accessible cities and public transportation is, IMHO, the wrong category. Europe and USA are very far apart.

Great point.

Granted I’m approaching it from the perspective of a tourist or business traveler, but 6/6 of the European cities I’ve been in were fully navigable for my purposes via transit. I’d probably guess half or less in the US.

Even in NYC or SFO, the metro areas are so large it really makes the success rates low depending on the trip.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#124

Post by 3eb7988a1663 » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:51 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #96

ttul wrote: post #75

“Japan’s liberal land use regulation makes it straightforward to build new neighborhoods next to railway lines, giving commuters easy access to city centers. It also enables the densification of these centers, which means that commuters have more places they want to go.” This is the most important paragraph in the article. It can’t be overstated how ingenious Japan’s system of zoning is and how much this has benefitt…

[flagged]

In New York, property values go up as they near transit lines. People want the option to use the public transit because it can dramatically improve access to the rest of the city.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#125

Post by mjevans » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:51 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #105

amunozo wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live a 3-minutes walk from a busy train station in Switzerland and I don't even hear the trains. I also happened to live just next to it (my windows facing the rails) and that was horrible. So it's just a matter of some space and noise barriers.

> So it's just a matter of some space and noise barriers. And guess what's often hotly contested. Noise barriers tend to draw complaints because they ruin the sightline, are either ugly from the start or end up being "decorated" not by good art but quick throw tags. And landlords are often too much penny-pinchers to install decent windows unless you legally require them to, which is often impossible for already const…

This is my major problem as a renter in the US. The minimum code really is too minimum. The city ordinances also enforce high limits on walls in ways that preserve a baby boomer childhood era view of suburbs.

It'd suck less if it felt like E.G. noise and environmental pollution ordinances were ever enforced. (Break up those parties and stop people from doing trash burns / crappy fires during burn bans which are pretty much always...)

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#126

Post by rayiner » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:51 PM UTC

eudamoniac wrote: post #92

rayiner wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The japanese railroads are owned by private companies.

I thought the rails were owned by the government, leased to the companies?

Some of them are, like the Shinkansen lines. Others are both owned and operated by private companies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dkaid%C5%8D_Main_Line.

Additionally, the stations are generally owned by private companies—including the the development rights at the station. This means that the Japanese private rail companies capture a portion of the value created by the rail service, which otherwise would be an externality. So the companies have an incentive, as landowners, for rail ridership to stay high.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#127

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:51 PM UTC

kdheiwns wrote: post #10

amazingamazing wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is this because of the federal government capitulating or is it because the small group inherently has influence structurally?

The federal government has no influence. Prefectures approve their own construction. Japan's railways are built and operated by corporations, not the government, so the federal government has zero say in the matter.

[deleted]

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#128

Post by hirpslop » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #102

kemiller wrote: post #79

This is a great article, but I think it’s hard to ignore that Japan’s culture of harmony is a big part of why they were able to choose sensible regulations that benefitted everyone. We struggle to pass even the most sensible land use reforms because entrenched interests want to remain entrenched even if it hurts the system overall.

So America's culture of individual liberty is why people don't have the freedom to build whatever they want on the land that they own?

Yes, that’s exactly right. Maximal ‘individual liberty’ is my right to maximize my land’s value. My neighbors either agree to maximize theirs in a way that increases, or doesn’t hinder, mine, or they are my enemy to be litigated to death by my lawyers for damages.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#129

Post by margalabargala » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC

chii wrote: post #110

antirez wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"West" when we talk about urban spaces, walk-accessible cities and public transportation is, IMHO, the wrong category. Europe and USA are very far apart.

they might mean west of japan ;)

Go far enough and Japan is west of Japan, several times over. You can always keep heading west.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#130

Post by 9x39 » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 3:54 PM UTC

delecti wrote: post #68

ladberg wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that not similar to both the west and east coasts of the US?

WRT the west coast, mostly. It's about as long as Japan, but only about half the population. It's certainly populated enough that it's not justifiable that rail travel is so slow. Less so for the east coast though. From roughly DC to Boston is decently connected with rail, but is not nearly as direct of a corridor as Japan.

Cars were already popular in the US and good enough of a solution in conjunction with the highway system, maybe. If basic transportation is solved, it probably reduces the impetus to build passenger rail for rail's sake.