SATOSHI SEINO
President and CEO
East Japan Railway Company
The head of the largest passenger railway company in the world saw danger ahead if his company failed to take on new challenges amid the unclear prospects for the Japanese economy.
Satoshi Seino, President and CEO of East Japan Railway Company (known as JR East), set ambitious goals in “JR East 2020 Vision,” a 2008 plan subtitled Idomu, meaning challenge.
“We accepted the challenge of creating the best in railways and anticipating the global role of Japan’s railways more than ten years ahead,” Seino says.
The company is looking to “move up a gear” in seven areas, including safety, the environment and business opportunities overseas.
Ensuring the safety and security of the more than 6 billion passengers JR East transports each year is Seino’s foremost mission, and the company plans to spend ¥750 billion (approximately $8.3 billion) on safety in the five-year period begun April 1, 2009.
However, Seino is philosophical about the results. “With safety, there is no point you can call ‘complete and final,’” he says.
JR East is targeting “the ultimate in safety.”
One example of the company’s commitment to safety is a plan to install automatic platform gates, designed to prevent people from falling off platforms, at all 29 stations on Tokyo’s Yamanote line.
Installing the gates will increase standing time at stations and complicate scheduling on a line where trains approach every two minutes, but the prospect of increased passenger safety was the decisive factor.
Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels—but Seino has adopted an even more radical plan.
JR East’s railways emitted 2.26 million tons of CO2 in the year that ended March 31, 2009. The company is targeting a 32% cut in emissions by the end of March 2018, compared to March 1992, and a jaw-dropping 50% by the end of March 2031!
“With safety, there is no point you
can call ‘complete and final.’”
Seino is confident of achieving initial targets with available technology.
Yamanote line trains run on about 50% less energy than they did 20 years ago, thanks to the development of more efficient rolling stock, and Seino is betting that ceaseless technological innovation will help achieve longer-range goals.
“By forging ahead with technological development, we hope to generate devices that achieve further energy savings,” Seino says.
Railway companies are not known as major exporters, and JR East has so far taken a passive stance on overseas expansion, but Seino wants to become more active in the international railroad business area.
The company is looking to market a comprehensive package that combines operational expertise and know-how with the management lessons learned during the post-privatization period to offer a safe and stable railway model overseas.
Seino is particularly seeking out business opportunities involving high-speed railways, and is closely watching developments following decisions by U.S. President Barack Obama to spend $13 billion to create a high-speed-rail strategic plan.
Not surprisingly, the man responsible for the safety of his passengers also watches out for his own health.
Seino is careful about what he eats and walks the dog for about an hour each morning. The walking helps him relax, and playing golf once or twice a month also appears to be a healthy pastime. But Seino shakes his head.
“My score just won’t go down,” he says. “That’s frustrating!”
