Number of passengers carried via railway transportation in Japan FY 2012-2021
As rolling stock carries the most passengers and realizes the highest traffic, the railway is arguably the most important means of public transportation on the archipelago.
In the fiscal year 2021, the number of passengers carried via railway transportation in Japan amounted to approximately 18.81 billion, increasing from around 17.67 billion in the previous year. Railroad transportation is Japan’s major mass transit system encompassing local systems from trams to high-speed railway lines for long-distance travel, called Shinkansen or bullet trains.