Basic Act on Transportation Policy
Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions (Articles 1 to 14)
Chapter II Basic Policies on Transportation
Section 1 Basic Plan on Transportation Policy (Article 15)
Section 2 State Policies (Articles 16 to 31)
Section 3 Local Government Policies (Article 32)
Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
(Purpose)
Article 1  The purpose of this Act is to promote improvement in the stability of the lives of the people and the sound development of the national economy through comprehensive and systematic implementation of policies on transportation, coupled with the Basic Act on Traffic Safety Measures (Act No. 110 of 1970), by means of establishing fundamental principles and basic matters to put such fundamental principles into practice, and by clarifying the responsibilities of the state and local governments.
(Basic Recognition in Promoting Policies on Transportation)
Article 2  In light of the fact that transportation functions to ensure the independent daily lives and social lives of the people, active inter-regional and international exchange, as well as the smooth distribution of goods, and is indispensable for promoting improvement in the stability of the lives of the people and the sound development of the national economy, policies on transportation must be promoted under the basic recognition that it is important to appropriately satisfy the basic transportation demands of the people and other persons (hereinafter referred to as "the Public") by allowing said transportation to function to its full potential into the future.
(Ensuring and Improving the Functioning of Transportation)
Article 3  (1) In light of the fact that transportation is the foundation for the daily lives and social lives of the people, plays an important role in the positive participation of the people in socioeconomic activities, and is the foundation for economic activity, policies on transportation must be promoted with the objective of ensuring and improving the functionality of transportation so as to allow transportation to contribute to the realization of prosperous lives of the people, as well as to contribute to enhancement of the international competitiveness of Japan's industries, tourism, etc., and the invigoration of local regions, including stimulation of local economies, while coping with socioeconomic changes in Japan such as the recent rapid progression of an aging population combined with a low birthrate.
(2) In ensuring and improving the functionality of transportation, every possible consideration must be given to facilitating mitigation of the reduction of the functionality of transportation and quick recovery from such reduction in the event of a large-scale disaster, as well as to enabling it to appropriately handle evacuation movement in the event of said disaster, in light of the importance of maintaining the functionality of transportation and smooth movement for evacuation in the event of said disaster.
(Reducing the Environmental Burden Caused by Traffic)
Article 4  In light of the fact that maintaining the sound and rich condition of the environment is indispensable to the healthy and cultured lives of people, as well as the impact of transportation on the environment, policies on transportation must be promoted with the objective of reducing the environmental burden caused by traffic so that the people may enjoy the benefits of a sound and rich environment into the future.
(Appropriate Role-Sharing and Organic and Efficient Coordination among Modes of Transportation)
Article 5  Policies on transportation must be promoted with a view to achieving appropriate role-sharing as well as organic and efficient coordination among modes of transportation such as walking, bicycles, vehicles, railway vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft, taking into consideration competition in the selection of modes of transportation (which include transportation facilities and transportation services; the same shall apply hereinafter) and free choice of the Public, in accordance with the characteristics of each mode of transportation.
(Promotion of Policies by Coordination)
Article 6  From the perspective of town development, developing Japan as a tourism-oriented country, etc., policies on transportation must be promoted under coordination and cooperation among the state, local governments, operators of transportation undertakings or other transportation-related undertakings (hereinafter referred to as "Transportation-Related Businesses"), parties who manage traffic facilities (hereinafter referred to as "Traffic Facilities Administrators"), residents, and other relevant parties, in coordination between said policies, as well as with other relevant policies.
(Ensuring Traffic Safety)
Article 7  (1) Policies on ensuring traffic safety shall be governed by the Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act and other relevant Acts, in light of the fact that said policies shall play an important role in protecting the lives, persons and property of the Public.
(2) In promoting policies on transportation, sufficient coordination with policies on ensuring traffic safety that shall be implemented in accordance with what is provided for in the preceding paragraph must be assured.
(Responsibilities of the State)
Article 8  (1) The state shall be responsible for comprehensively and systematically establishing and implementing policies on transportation in accordance with the fundamental principles of the policies prescribed in Articles 2 to 6 (hereinafter simply referred to as "Fundamental Principles").
(2) The state must endeavor to deepen Public understanding of the Fundamental Principles and to obtain their cooperation through activities such as providing relevant information.
(Responsibilities of Local Governments)
Article 9  (1) Local governments shall be responsible for formulating and implementing policies on transportation in accordance with the natural and socioeconomic characteristics of their domain, in accordance with the Fundamental Principles and based on the appropriate sharing of roles with the state.
(2) Local governments must endeavor to deepen Public understanding of the Fundamental Principles and to obtain their cooperation through activities such as providing relevant information.
(Responsibilities of Transportation-Related Businesses and Traffic Facilities Administrators)
Article 10  (1) Transportation-Related Businesses and Traffic Facilities Administrators shall endeavor to conduct their business appropriately and cooperate with policies on transportation implemented by the state or local governments, in light of the fact that they have an important role in realizing the Fundamental Principles.
(2) In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, Transportation-Related Businesses and Traffic Facilities Administrators shall endeavor to provide correct and appropriate information relevant to their business in accordance with the Fundamental Principles.
(Role of the Public)
Article 11  The Public shall play a proactive role in bringing about the Fundamental Principles through endeavoring to gain a better understanding of said Fundamental Principles through actively undertaking activities they can handle independently in order to improve said understanding, and endeavoring to cooperate with the state and local governments on the implementation of their policies.
(Coordination and Cooperation among Relevant Parties)
Article 12  The state, local governments, Transportation-Related Businesses, Traffic Facilities Administrators, residents, and other relevant parties shall endeavor to coordinate and cooperate with each other toward realization of the Fundamental Principles.
(Legislative Measures)
Article 13  The Government shall take legislative, financial and other measures that are necessary to implement policies on transportation.
(Annual Reports)
Article 14  (1) The Government must annually submit to the Diet a report on transportation trends and implemented transportation measures.
(2) The Government must annually prepare and submit to the Diet documents explaining the policies that the Government is going to implement in view of the report pertaining to transportation trends in the preceding paragraph.
Chapter II Basic Policies on Transportation
Section 1 Basic Plan on Transportation Policies
Article 15  (1) The Government must establish a basic plan on transportation policies (hereinafter referred to as the "Basic Plan on Transportation Policy") for the comprehensive and systematic promotion of transportation policies.
(2) The Basic Plan on Transportation Policy shall set forth the following:
(i) the basic direction of transportation policies;
(ii) targets of transportation policies;
(iii) measures on transportation that the Government shall implement comprehensively and systematically;
(iv) in addition to what is listed in the preceding three items, matters necessary for the comprehensive and systematic promotion of transportation policies.
(3) The Basic Plan on Transportation Policies must be in conformity with national plans for comprehensive utilization, development and conservation of national land, and national basic plans for preservation of the environment.
(4) The Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism must prepare a draft of the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy and seek a cabinet decision on said policy.
(5) Before preparing a draft of the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism must publicize an outline, the content, and other necessary information related to the plan, and broadly seek the opinion of the Public.
(6) Before preparing a draft of the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy pursuant to the provision of the paragraph (4), the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism must seek the opinions of the Council of Transportation Policy and the Panel on Infrastructure Development.
(7) Before preparing a draft of the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy pursuant to the provision of the paragraph (4), the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism must, consult with the Minister of Environment from regarding environmental preservation.
(8) When the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy is established the Government must report this to the Diet and make said policy public without delay.
(9) The provisions of the paragraph (4) to the preceding paragraph of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to changes to the Basic Plan on Transportation Policy.
Section 2 State Policies
(Ensuring Means of Transportation Indispensable for Daily Life)
Article 16  The state shall take necessary measures such as ensuring different means of transportation, while taking into account the traffic situation on isolated islands and other natural and socioeconomic conditions of local regions, in order to make the smooth transportation of people commuting to work, traveling to school, visiting hospital, as well as the smooth transportation of other people and goods considered indispensable for the daily lives and social lives of the people possible.
(Policies for the Smooth Transportation of Elderly Persons, Persons with Disabilities, and Pregnant Women)
Article 17  The state shall take necessary measures such as promotion of improvements in the structure and features of vehicles, railway vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft, passenger facilities, roads, and parking lots in order to enable smooth transportation in the daily lives and social lives of elderly persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, and others whose daily lives or social lives are restricted due to physical limitations, as well as people who are accompanied by infants.
(Improvement of the Convenience, Smoothness and Efficiency of Transportation)
Article 18  In addition to what is provided for in the preceding two Articles, in order to properly satisfy the basic demands of the Public for transportation in their daily lives or social lives, the state shall take necessary measures to improve the convenience, smoothness and efficiency of transportation services, including ensuring punctuality (meaning to operate in accordance with set departure and arrival times), improving speed (meaning to shorten the time required to reach a destination), ensuring comfort, facilitating connections between transportation services or upgrading the functionality of connecting transportation services by other means (meaning to upgrade the functionality of connections between two or more modes of transportation, addressing the transportation of numbers of passengers through transportation facilities and surrounding facilities) and streamlining transportation services.
(Policies Necessary to Enhance International Competitiveness)
Article 19  The state shall take necessary measures such as forming international maritime transportation networks and international aviation transportation networks, developing seaports and airports that are hubs for these international transportation networks, and strengthening the functionality of connections between these international transportation networks and nationwide domestic transportation networks, in order to enhance the international competitiveness of the industries, tourism, etc., of our country.
(Policies Necessary to Revitalize Local Regions)
Article 20  The state shall take necessary measures, such as forming domestic transportation networks and transportation hubs that facilitate promotion of the establishment of enterprise sites within local regions as well as communication and the exchange of goods within and between local regions.
(Sound Development of Transportation Undertakings and Other Transportation-Related Undertakings)
Article 21  The state shall take necessary measures such as enhancing business foundations and developing human resources for promoting the sound development of transportation undertakings and other transportation-related undertakings, in light of the fact that stable operations of these businesses facilitate ensuring and improving the functionality of transportation.
(Policies Necessary to Mitigate Reduction of Transportation Functionality and Quickly Recover from Reduction in the Event of a Large-Scale Disaster)
Article 22  The state shall take necessary measures such as improving the safety of transportation facilities against earthquakes, ensuring mutually alternative means of transportation, ensuring coordination between relevant parties for quick recovery of transportation functionality, and developing means of transportation taking into account that movement for evacuation by numbers of people may take place simultaneously in the event of a large-scale disaster, in order to mitigate reduction of transportation functionality and quickly recover from such reduction in the event of said disaster, and to ensure smooth transportation for evacuation from said disaster.
(Policies Necessary to Reduce the Environmental Burden Associated with Traffic)
Article 23  In order to achieve a reduction of the environmental burden associated with traffic, including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and prevention of air pollution, marine pollution, and noise, the state shall take necessary measures such as promoting the development, diffusion and proper usage of vehicles and other transportation machinery and equipment that facilitating mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and emissions of other substances that cause environmental burden, as well as furthering the smoothing of traffic flow, promoting a shift to rail and sea freight or optimizing the movement of goods by other means, increasing the convenience of public transportation for passengers, preventing the discharge of waste from marine vessels into the ocean, and preventing noise caused by aircraft.
(Development of a Comprehensive Transportation System)
Article 24  (1) The state shall take necessary measures to develop a comprehensive transportation system such as promoting the enhancement of coordination between road traffic, railway traffic, marine traffic, and air traffic as well as mutual coordination between public transportation services, considering that appropriate role-sharing among modes of transportation such as walking, bicycles, vehicles, railway vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft in accordance with the characteristics of each mode of transportation is required, as well as forming organic and efficient transportation networks.
(2) The state shall take necessary measures to intensively, effectively and efficiently promote the development of means of transportation under the coordination provided for in the preceding paragraph, while taking into account trends in the demand for transportation and the state of deterioration of transportation facilities, as well as other circumstances.
(Promotion of Policies from the Perspective of Town Planning)
Article 25  The state shall take necessary measures from the perspective of town planning so that local government policies on transportation can be promoted under coordination and cooperation with the state, Transportation-Related Businesses, Traffic Facilities Administrators, residents, and other relevant parties, based on comprehensive plans on land-use, and other relevant matters. In this case, the state shall endeavor to have the demands of residents for transportation and other circumstances be considered for said coordination and cooperation.
(Promotion of Policies from the Perspective of Developing Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country)
Article 26  In light of the fact that developing Japan as a tourism-oriented country is vital for the Japan's socioeconomic development, and that promoting tourist travel helps improve the stability of the lives of the people and the sound development of the national economy as well as contributes to increasing international mutual understanding through the expansion of inter-regional and international exchange, the state shall take necessary measures related to transportation to promote tourist travel such as promoting the provision of the necessary means of transportation to tourists that smooth the flow of tourist traffic, promoting the provision of information to foreign tourists using foreign languages or other measures regarding vehicles, railway vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft, passenger facilities, and roads.
(Promotion of Conferences)
Article 27  The state shall take necessary measures to promote mutual coordination and cooperation between relevant parties such as promoting conferences between the state, local governments, Transportation-Related Businesses, Traffic Facilities Administrators, residents, and other relevant parties in light of the fact that mutual coordination and cooperation among these parties enable the policies on transportation to be effectively promoted.
(Research and Study)
Article 28  The state shall promote necessary research and study, such as that of transportation trends, to formulate policies on transportation.
(Development and Dissemination of Technology)
Article 29  In light of the fact that the utilization of information and communications technologies and other technologies contributed to the effective promotion of the policies on transportation, the state shall take necessary measures such as setting specific goals for research and development of transportation-related technologies, enhancement of coordination among the national testing laboratories, testing laboratories of incorporated administrative agencies, universities, private bodies, and other bodies who conduct research and development, and promotion of the introduction of means of transportation that make use of technologies which facilitate a realization of the Fundamental Principles, so as to effectively promote research and development as well as dissemination of technologies for transportation.
(Promotion of Security of International Coordination and International Cooperation)
Article 30  In light of the importance of promoting the policies on transportation under international cooperation, the state shall take necessary measures to promote the security of international coordination on transportation including international standardization of standards and international cooperation on transportation including technological cooperation with developing local regions, while considering that technologies and knowledge accumulated in Japan can be utilized in foreign countries..
(Measures to Implement Policies from the Perspective of the Public)
Article 31  The state shall take necessary measures such as measures to reflect the Public's opinion, so as to implement the policies on transportation from the perspective of the Public, and taking their opinions into account.
Section 3 Policies of Local Governments
Article 32  Local governments shall comprehensively and systematically implement policies on transportation in accordance with the natural and socioeconomic conditions of their region in coordination with said policies as well as with other relevant policies, from the perspective of town planning, etc.
Supplementary Provisions
(Effective Date)
(1) This Act shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.