Photo/Illutration Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu, left, and Shin Kaneko, president of JR Tokai, begin their meeting over the company’s plan to construct the ultrafast maglev Chuo Shinkansen Line at a prefectural government building on Sept. 13. (Pool)

SHIZUOKA--The president of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and the prefectural governor met on Sept. 13 but failed to resolve an impasse that is delaying construction work on the maglev Chuo Shinkansen Line. 

The meeting between JR Tokai President Shin Kaneko and Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu at the Shizuoka prefectural governmental building was their first in two years and three months.

JR Tokai plans to construct the Chuo Shinkansen Line connecting Tokyo and Nagoya, with a later extension to Osaka. 

The company hopes to break ground in Shizuoka, which is located between Tokyo and Nagoya, but the prefectural government has been refusing to allow construction for what could be one of the world’s fastest trains.

The construction work would be along an 8.9-kilometer stretch in Shizuoka Prefecture. 

After the meeting, Kaneko told reporters, “I said (to Kawakatsu) that we would like to obtain the prefecture’s understanding and cooperation for starting construction in Shizuoka, but I couldn’t hear any detailed comments (from Kawakatsu).”

Kawakatsu told the media, “We are taking steps that are necessary before the construction begins.”

In their meeting, Kaneko sought cooperation from Kawakatsu so that the company could start construction in the prefecture soon.

Kaneko said that the company will take measures to mitigate a possible decrease in water levels in a river and impacts on ecosystem in the prefecture, which the prefectural government has argued could occur as a result of a tunnel construction there.

Kawakatsu, however, didn’t change his cautious stance, resulting in no breaking the deadlock.

Prefectural officials argue that construction of a tunnel will cause groundwater to flow outside the prefecture, resulting in a decrease in the volume of water available in the Oigawa river, which runs through the prefecture.

Therefore, the prefectural government has demanded that all water lost in this manner be returned to the river if the company proceeds with construction.

It also has demanded that the construction not impact the ecosystem in mountainous areas in the prefecture.

The company is now unlikely to fulfill its initial plan to have the Chuo Shinkansen Line in operation between the capital’s Shinagawa Station and Nagoya Station in 2027.

The company asked to meet with the governor because Kawakatsu has made comments that suggest his doubts on the feasibility of the 2027 plan.

For example, he said in August that part of the Chuo Shinkansen Line connecting Kanagawa Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture could open before the rest of the line.

He made the comment after he declared his support for the 2027 plan when Shizuoka Prefecture joined a group of prefectures located along the Chuo Shinkansen Line route in July.

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