 JR West still sticks to its 'profit-first' policy West Japan Railway Company (JR West) President Kakiuchi Takeshi declined to change the company's priority of pursuing profit rather than safety, even after the fatal derailment in Amagasaki City in April. He made this clear at the House of Representatives transport committee meeting on May 13 in answer to questions on the JR derailment that killed 107 people. Asked by Japanese Communist Party representative Kokuta Keiji if JR West after the accident has retracted the company's policy of placing priority on making larger profits over ensuring safety, Kakiuchi stated, "Since JR West is a private-sector company, making money is important." He conceded that the railway company will not be able to make money without safe transportation. Kakiuchi showed no intention to change the present policy. Kokuta pointed out that dismissing engineers and other personnel in the name of corporate "streamlining" efforts could have been an underlying factor in the accident. Criticizing JR West for cutting the cost for installing the upgraded new model automatic train stop (ATS-P) system to 200 million yen in 2000 from 1.9 billion yen in 2001, Kokuta demanded that ATS-P be installed immediately on every train at any cost. Kokuta also stated that the severe personnel cuts have brought about a corporate climate in which "obedience to orders" is praised, and workers are forced into ever tighter schedules to compete with other private railways at the neglect of safety, which can be seen as a cause of the accident. - Akahata, May 14, 2005 |