Merging lines: organising Japan's National Railroad, 1906-1914

摘要

In 1906 the Japanese government passed legislation nationalising the country's trunk lines. This article examines railroad policies and programmes developed to co-ordinate this dramatically enlarged organisation. The focus is on the various efforts to restructure the organisation, integrate the diverse elements of the system and create a new corporate culture. Despite later weakness and ultimate privatisation, the reorganisation projects undertaken in the years immediately following nationalisation suggest a de facto merger that proved to be a relative success in helping set in motion an extended arc of industrial development.