Shuji Maruyama

The Tokaido Shinkansen carries over 150 million passengers annually between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka — Japan's three largest metropolitan areas comprising over 60 million people. Since its launch in 1964, the line has transported over 6 billion passengers with zero fatal accidents, making it one of the greatest engineering achievements in transportation history. JR Central's transformative project is the Chuo Shinkansen — a superconducting magnetic levitation (maglev) line that will connect Tokyo to Nagoya in 40 minutes and eventually to Osaka in 67 minutes at speeds of 500 km/h. This ¥9 trillion ($60-90 billion) project is one of the most ambitious infrastructure investments in the world. Construction progress has been delayed by environmental concerns and water resource disputes in Shizuoka Prefecture, making the project timeline a key uncertainty. Maruyama's management of the Tokaido Shinkansen's post-pandemic traffic recovery, progress on the maglev project, and the financial burden of self-funding the Chuo Shinkansen are the primary drivers of JR Central's stock. The company's debt levels will increase significantly as maglev construction progresses.