Substantial construction and improvement of the highway network in Japan began with the first five-year road improvement programme starting in 1954 and the work continues today under the tenth five-year programme. The traffic conditions today, especially in cities are beset with serious problems such as traffic jams, environmental pollution and accidents because of 1) the unexpectedly rapid progress of motorization, 2) insufficient construction and improvement of roads in relation to the increased volume of traffic and 3) concentration of the population in large cities. Reported here are the results of the investigations conducted on the traffic conditions in and around large cities, such as Tokyo, and the characteristics of traffic extracted through these investigations. Presented also are the basic policies and the measures taken concerning urban traffic in Japan inview of the expected socioeconomic trends and the trends in the lifestyle of the Japanese people. Japanese Ministry of Construction and OECD/Road Transport Research Programme held the seminar on "future road transport systems and infrastructures in urban areas" in Chiba, Japan on 4th - 6th june 1991 sponsored by the Japanese organizing committee.
Abstract