P.M. BRIEFING : Japan OKs Superconductor Train
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TOKYO — Japan’s Transport Ministry gave the green light today to a plan that could put a floating, 300 m.p.h. train powered by superconductors into service by the late-1990s.
The ministry will seek funds from next year’s national budget for a new 26-mile test line in Yamanashi, a mountainous prefecture west of Tokyo, a ministry official said.
The project faces daunting financial and technical hurdles but is likely to rally support as a showcase of Japanese technology.
“It’s a mixture of national pride and pork-barrel politics,” said James Doherty, senior manager of research at brokerage Jardine Fleming in Tokyo.
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