Samenvatting
In October 1996, the Ministry of Transport set out a technological research project for electronic ticketing in Japan. JR East, the largest railway operator in Japan, had been testing contactless smart card ticket for about ten years. However, the MOT believed that it was urgent to establish the national standard of smart card ticket for transport with multiple applications. Furthermore, a trial of contactless smart card ticketing was considered to be most important. This paper reviews the project itself, describes the trial in detail and touches on several issues toward practical use.