Awareness Campaign in Japan Encourages Eco-Friendly Railway Travel

The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is cooperating with the railway industry in deploying a six-month "Eco-conscious on Railways" campaign, which aims to encourage the public to use railway services, as they emit far less carbon dioxide than cars. The campaign started on October 1, 2005.

Before starting the campaign, the ministry provided participating railways a campaign logo and the catchphrase "Eco-friendly Life Starts at Your Railway Station." Both the logo and catchphrase are being used by the participating railway companies for their respective activities. The campaign is also being coordinated with "Team Minus 6%," a government-led national campaign against global warming, aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six percent from 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012.

The railway companies are organizing various activities such as hiking tours, sales of special tickets and prepaid cards, and the operation of commemorative trains. Sagami Railway Co. in Kanagawa Prefecture, for example, hangs free bags containing plant seeds and leaflets inside its train cars, as part of its appeal to show passengers that railways are an eco-friendly means of transportation.

http://www.mlit.go.jp/english/index.html

Posted: 2005/12/21 09:57:06 AM
Japanese version