On August 26, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the results of its policy check-up for fiscal year 2024.
Policy check-ups are ex-post evaluations based on the Policy Evaluation Act, which assess the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's policy objectives and performance indicators based on the previous year's results, identifying challenges and outlining future directions for initiatives.
The policy objective of "promoting the development of a sound market environment for the trucking industry" is to "promote the development of a sound market environment for the trucking business so that safe truck transportation can be provided stably in the future." It sets a target of increasing the certification rate of safety-excellent businesses (G-mark), which was 33.4% in FY2023, to 35.9% in FY2028.
In contrast, the actual result for fiscal year 2024 was 33.9%, and the evaluation of the achievement of the target was given as "A" (the actual value indicates the results toward achieving the target).
Regarding the reasons for the evaluation and future plans, the company stated, "We evaluated it as A because, extending the trend based on past performance, it is expected that the target value will be achieved in the target year. Based on the results of increasing the number of certified businesses, achieved by promoting widespread awareness and acquisition of the G-Mark system, as well as implementing measures to promote fair trade between truck drivers and shippers and ensure various safety measures, we will continue these efforts in the future."
In terms of modal shift indicators, the target for rail container freight transport was 209 billion ton-kilometers by FY2025, but in FY2024 it remained at 164 billion ton-kilometers, resulting in a rating of "B" (actual figures do not indicate progress toward achieving the target).
In response to this assessment, the company stated, "Going forward, it will be necessary to increase transportation capacity and strengthen disaster response capabilities by promoting modal shift from trucks to rail. Therefore, we will continue to improve the facilities of freight stations that serve as hubs for alternative transportation, strengthen BCP measures, widen container platoons to expand the handling of large containers, and promote the spread of the Eco-Rail mark."
