Chapter 590: Transportation and Magnetic Cards

After the report on the entertainment business concluded, the meeting returned to the previously shelved topic of transportation.

Endo signaled the staff to unfold the transportation planning map of the Tokyo Bay area.

“Regarding Odaiba’s rail transit, as well as whether the group will enter the railway transit business in the future, we have already conducted a preliminary investigation.”

“Currently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is advancing two projects directly related to the Waterfront Sub-center. The first is a new transit system connecting Shimbashi and Odaiba, which is the Tokyo Waterfront New Transit currently under construction. The second is the Waterfront Sub-center Line overseen by the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit, which is planned to connect to Odaiba from the direction of Shin-Kiba and continue extending west in the future.”

“The positioning of these two lines is not entirely the same. The former mainly handles passenger traffic between Odaiba, Shimbashi, and Shibaura, and can directly serve the vicinity of Saionji Tower. The latter takes on the task of connecting the waterfront area with the rest of the Greater Tokyo rail network.”

“However, according to the current engineering schedule, both lines are still several years away from opening to traffic. In particular, the first phase of the Waterfront Sub-center Line has only just entered the practical implementation stage.”

Endo handed out several sets of documents.

“We have already made preliminary contact with the relevant departments of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Considering that Saionji owns numerous office, commercial, and residential development projects in the Waterfront Sub-center, they welcome in principle the group’s further participation in public transit construction.”

“However, the specific methods will require further negotiation.”

“Our preliminary recommendation is for the group to establish an independent transportation division preparatory office, responsible for the unified planning of railway investments, station commerce, and related infrastructure. In the short term, the focus should be on exploring capital cooperation for the two waterfront lines, as well as whether we can accelerate the progress of certain projects by providing construction funds and engineering resources.”

“As for railway operations, we can draw upon the expertise of Seibu Railway.”

At this point, Endo pointed to another area on the planning map.

“Seibu currently possesses a mature railway operations system and has already collaborated with us on station commerce, along-the-line developments, and other projects. Both parties can consider co-investing in some waterfront transit facilities, and establishing partnerships in rolling stock maintenance, passenger flow management, and station operations.”

“However, considering that the group may expand into the transportation markets of other cities in the future, we do not recommend integrating this business directly into Seibu’s existing system. Instead, Saionji should retain independent investment and operational decision-making power.”

Hearing this, Satsuki nodded.

This aligned quite closely with her own thinking.

Seibu was indeed a good partner.

Especially Tsutsumi Yoshiaki.

Although that old fox could be a bit slippery at times, as long as their interests aligned, working together was quite pleasant.

Besides, running a railway wasn’t something that could be done well simply by throwing money at it.

From train dispatching and track maintenance to station management and safety assurance, every link required long-accumulated experience.

Saionji could certainly cultivate such talent on its own, but since a ready partner already existed, there was no need to start everything from scratch.

“Let’s proceed according to this plan, then.”

Satsuki set the map back on the table.

“First confirm the specific terms with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, then go speak with Chairman Tsutsumi. As for funds and construction, if it can genuinely shorten the construction timeline, we can raise the budget accordingly.”

She thought for a moment, then added:

“However, I believe that if we’re going to enter the transportation sector, we shouldn’t keep our eyes glued solely to Odaiba.”

Endo looked up.

“Does the Young Mistress have other considerations?”

“Mm.”

Satsuki picked up a fountain pen and tapped it lightly on the planning map a few times.

“Tokyo currently has JR, Eidan, Toei, as well as Seibu and a host of other private railways. Each company has its own lines, fares, and operating models, requiring passengers to transfer back and forth between different systems.”

“Since we are already preparing to establish our own transportation business, why not look into whether we can make the connections between these lines more convenient while we’re at it?”

She paused briefly.

“For instance, a unified transit payment system.”

Hearing this, several people in the conference room looked up at the same time.

Satsuki continued:

“There are already magnetic stripe cards and various interline tickets available now, but their scope of use across different companies is still limited. If passengers could carry just one card in the future and pass seamlessly through the ticket gates of different railway companies, wouldn’t that be much more convenient?”

“What’s more, this card wouldn’t necessarily be limited to riding trains.”

“After leaving the station, it could also be used directly to purchase goods at S-Mart, FamilyMart, or other partner stores.”

The executive in charge of the SIS business clearly understood her point.

“If we adopt contactless IC cards, it is theoretically feasible. However, railway ticket gates demand high recognition speeds and reliability; existing technology would still require dedicated development.”

“Additionally, the fare calculation methods vary among railway companies, and cross-company travel involves complex revenue-sharing issues. To put it into practical use, a clearing and settlement system must be established in tandem.”

“Mm, you can study this together with the finance department.”

Satsuki replied crisply.

“The chips and reader-writer equipment can be coordinated with the technology department. Aren’t we developing semiconductors anyway? This will give them a practical application project.”

She reflected for a moment.

“However, there’s no need to consider rolling it out to all of Tokyo for now.”

“Let’s start from within the group first. Employee ID cards, cafeterias, convenience stores, and the shuttle buses in Odaiba can all serve as testing scenarios.”

“If the results are good, we can partner with Seibu to see if it can be expanded to the railways.”

Several department heads nodded in succession.

Although this plan involved quite a few technical challenges, at least the first phase could be carried out entirely within Saionji’s own system.

As for whether it could later be promoted to JR and other private railways, that was another matter entirely.

However, Yoichi Tsuchiya, sitting beside her, was clearly thinking even further ahead.

He jotted down a few notes on his document.

If such a system could truly be put into operation, then what Saionji controlled in the future would likely be far more than just ticketing data for a few rail lines.

Retail payments, cross-enterprise settlements, and vast amounts of daily consumer transactions could all gradually flow into the same service network.

Of course, the prerequisite was that other companies were willing to join.

And to make them willing to join, it had to be proven first that this system could save them costs and boost efficiency.

With this thought, when Tsuchiya looked up at Satsuki, his gaze held a touch more interest.

“In addition, there’s JR East.”

Satsuki suddenly brought up another matter.

“Following the privatization of the Japanese National Railways, hasn’t the government retained quite a few shares in railway companies?”

Endo nodded.

“Currently, shares of JR East are still held by the JNR Settlement Corporation. The government indeed plans to sell them off gradually, though the exact timeline hasn’t been determined yet.”

“Then have the finance department look into it in advance.”

Satsuki turned a page of the document.

“If they begin the sale in the future, we can consider participating as an investor.”

She had little interest in buying JR East outright.

That company’s railway assets, employees, and operating system were simply too massive; moreover, it involved the government, labor unions, and vast public interests.

If she truly took the entire company into her own hands, just dealing with those intricate issues would probably be enough of a headache.

Becoming a major shareholder, however, was another matter.

Add to that Seibu and the waterfront railways…

If Saionji could establish sufficiently close partnerships among Tokyo’s major transit systems in the future, many things would become far easier.

Furthermore, what truly interested her wasn’t merely the railways themselves.

Stations, retail, land development, ticketing, and payment systems.

If these elements could gradually be tied together, the resulting market would likely be substantial.

“In any case, set up the transportation division preparatory team first.”

Satsuki set down her fountain pen.

“The waterfront railway investment proposal, the JR East share sale plan, and the unified payment system we just discussed—include all of them in this year’s research agenda.”

“Once the preliminary proposals are ready, submit them all to me together.”

“Understood.”

Endo nodded and recorded these decisions in the meeting minutes.