‘Unmanned stations’ Prompts Disability Groups in Japan to Worry About Freedom of Movement

By Barrier Free Japan, Kyodo 

August 25 2023

FUKUOKA – Amid a declining population, an increasing number of stations on Japan’s local train lines are switching to unmanned operations as railway companies target the bottom line amid decreasing passenger numbers.

The trend is evident even among the nation’s biggest operators, with nearly 60 percent of the 4,368 stations operated by the six Japan Railways Group passenger companies now running without staff.

However, unmanned stations bring with them their own set of concerns, not least compromises in convenience and safety.

One local government official in his 40s recalled being left bewildered by the lack of information at Ozai Station in the southwestern Japan city of Oita earlier this month after Typhoon Khanun had rolled through Japan’s southwestern Kyushu region, forcing cancelations and disruption to train services. There were few remote announcements to inform passengers of the situation at the station, which went unmanned July 1, he said.

The inconveniences extend beyond emergencies or platform usage. Unmanned stations have also become the subject of legal disputes, especially for people with disabilities in Japan. 

As early as 19th November 2019, disability groups in Kyushu, specifically disability groups in Oita Prefecture had concerns about ‘unmanned stations’, although protest rallies were held as long ago as late September 2018.

In November 2019, it was reported that a “civic group made up of people with disabilities and supporters will file a lawsuit seeking compensation from the Oita District Court.” 

Since 2020, more wheelchair users and other parties have filed numerous lawsuits with the Oita District Court, claiming that their constitutionally protected right to freedom of movement is being infringed.

In November 2020, it was reported by NHK that “The number of “unmanned stations” without station staff all day long has risen to more than 4,500 stations, which is close to half of the stations nationwide, and is still increasing.”

On February 10th 2022, the Oita District Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by three wheelchair users in Oita City who claimed that they suffered from restrictions on their freedom of movement due to JR Kyushu’s decision to make its stations unmanned. The plaintiffs presented their views on JR Kyushu’s decision to make four new stations in the prefecture unmanned, and appealed to the court to “take a sincere look at its role as a public transportation system once again.”

The plaintiff in the Oita District Court case, Harumi Yoshida, 68, a director of a social welfare corporation who is severely disabled said, “This trial is no longer just about us disabled people, but about the safety and convenience of the elderly, women, children and others who have no other means of transportation in the region but the JR.”