20 Years after Privatization, Free Expressways Still 90 Years Away

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–While Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the privatization of four Japanese public expressway corporations, the realization of free expressways in the country is still 90 years away. The privatization was a key policy of then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. In October 2005, the public corporations were reorganized into six private companies and the Japan Expressway Holding and Debt Repayment Agency, an independent administrative body. The six are East Nippon Expressway Co., Central Nippon Expressway Co., West Nippon Expressway Co., Metropolitan Expressway Co., Hanshin Expressway Co. and Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co. At the time, the former public corporations’ interest-bearing liabilities totaled 38 trillion yen. These debts were reduced to 30 trillion yen by the end of March 2025. The debt repayments “have steadily proceeded,” said a transport ministry official. The repayment scheme requires the successor private companies to pay leasing fees, excluding management costs, to the agency using toll revenues. Given their public nature, expressways will be made free of charge after the debts are fully repaid. This goal was initially set for 2050, but was postponed to 2065 after the 2012 collapse of concrete ceiling slabs in the Sasago Tunnel of the Chuo Expressway shed light on the need to repair aging infrastructure. As more locations requiring repairs have been discovered, a 2023 law revision further pushed back the start of free expressways to 2115 at the latest. While debts incurred for expressway construction are decreasing, the six operators’ debts for planned large-scale renewal work have exceeded 7 trillion yen. Despite their cost-cutting efforts, a Metropolitan Expressway official said, “Soaring material prices and rising labor costs weigh heavily on us.” The total length of Japan’s expressways in service stood at 10,328 kilometers as of the end of March 2025, an increase of 1,443 km since the privatization. A ministry official touted the development of the country’s expressway network, saying, “We can see the effects of the expressway network development.” Still, the total length includes 1,850 kilometers of sections that are prone to closing during large-scale disasters. Another challenge faced by Japan’s expressway network is the management of the electronic toll collection, or ETC, system. The ETC usage rate has increased from 50 pct at the time of the privatization to 95 pct. The abolition of manned toll lanes is currently underway. Nearly all toll booths in the Metropolitan Expressway network are expected to be ETC-only by spring 2028. However, a massive ETC system failure struck the Central Nippon Expressway network in April. It took some 38 hours to restore the system, and about 960,000 vehicles are estimated to have been affected. Confusion arose when the operator asked drivers to pay uncollected tolls at a later date, as there was no manual for such circumstances. A ministry official said that, while the ETC system is “very effective in eliminating congestion near toll booths,” it must be managed securely, including during times of disaster. Expressway operators also need to address the issue of wrong-way drivers on expressways. Although they have focused their efforts on information displays in the past decade, the annual number of wrong-way driving cases has remained at around 200. Considering the growing proportion of elderly drivers, operators are working promptly to introduce new technologies to prevent such cases, such as car navigation systems that alert riders of nearby wrong-way drivers and road-embedded bumps that rise up when vehicles are traveling in the wrong lane. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]