Japan Railways Group
The Japan Railways Group, commonly known as the JR Group or simply JR, is a network of railway companies in Japan formed after the division and privatization of the government-owned Japanese National Railways on April 1, 1987. The group comprises six regional passenger railway companies, one freight railway company, and two non-service entities. The JNR Settlement Corporation assumed much of the debt of the former JNR.
The companies of the JR Group operates a significant portion of Japan’s rail services, including intercity routes, commuter lines, and the Shinkansen high-speed rail network.
JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku, and JR Freight are governed by the, also known as the JR Companies Act, and are overseen by the public Japan Railway Construction, Transport, and Technology Agency. In contrast, JR East, JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu are fully privatized and publicly traded.
Due to JR’s origins as a government-run entity, Japanese rail users often distinguish JR lines from other private railways. This distinction is typically reflected in the way JR and other private railways are labeled on maps.
Background
By the 1970s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases had failed to keep up with higher labor costs.The JR Group companies were formed out of the privatization of the Japanese National Railways in 1987.
The seven JR companies recorded a total profit of ¥ 88.9 million in 1988.
Ownership
In 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate: initially, the government retained ownership of the companies. Privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By October 2016, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had been offered to the market and they are now publicly traded. On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still owned by Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, an independent administrative institution of the state.All the JR Group companies operating in the Honshū region are constituents of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX 100 indexes.
Companies
The Japan Railways Group consists of seven operating companies and two non-operating companies. The operating companies include six passenger railways and a nationwide freight operator. Unlike some other corporate groups, the JR Group comprises independent companies and does not have a group headquarters or a holding company to set overall business policy.The six passenger railways are organized by region, and most of their services operate within their designated areas. Some long-distance services, however, extend beyond regional boundaries. For example, the Shirasagi service between and uses JR West rolling stock, but the section of track between and is owned by JR Central, whose crew operate the train on that segment.
Japan Freight Railway Company operates all freight services on the network formerly owned by JNR.
The group also includes two non-operating companies: the Railway Technical Research Institute and Railway Information Systems.
| Business | Logo and color | Company | Type | Fully privatized | Traded as | Region of operation | Note |
| Passenger | Grass | Hokkaido Railway Company | State-owned via JRTT | Hokkaidō | Operates Hokkaidō Shinkansen | ||
| Passenger | Forest | East Japan Railway Company | Public | 2002 | Tōhoku, Kantō, Hokuriku, Kōshin'etsu | Operates Akita, Hokuriku, Jōetsu, Tōhoku and Yamagata Shinkansen | |
| Passenger | Pumpkin | Central Japan Railway Company | Public | 2006 | Chūbu | Operates Tōkaidō Shinkansen | |
| Passenger | Ocean | West Japan Railway Company | Public | 2004 | Hokuriku, Kansai, Chūgoku, Kyūshū | Operates Hokuriku and San'yō Shinkansen | |
| Passenger | Sky | Shikoku Railway Company | State-owned via JRTT | Shikoku | |||
| Passenger | Scarlet | Kyushu Railway Company | Public | 2016 | Kyūshū | Operates Kyūshū and Nishi Kyūshū Shinkansen | |
| Freight | Slate | Japan Freight Railway Company | State-owned via JRTT | Nationwide | |||
| IT Services | Burgundy | Railway Information Systems | Joint venture | Nationwide | Develops, operates and manages computer systems, including MARS. Jointly owned by the railway operating companies. | ||
| Research & Development | Lavender | Railway Technical Research Institute | Non-profit foundation | Nationwide | Conducts research and development of railway-related technologies, such as SCMaglev. Non-profit organization funded by the railway operating companies. |
Network
JR maintains a nationwide railway network as well as common ticketing rules that it inherited from JNR. Passengers may travel across several JR companies without changing trains and without purchasing separate tickets. However, trains running across the boundaries of JR companies have been reduced.JR maintains the same ticketing rules based on the JNR rules and has an integrated reservation system known as MARS. Some types of tickets, such as Japan Rail Pass and Seishun 18 Ticket, are issued as "valid for all JR lines" and accepted by all passenger JR companies.