- Convenor:
-
YOSHIO DOI
(Asahi University)
Send message to Convenor
- Discussants:
-
Katsuomi NAKAGAKI
(Asahi university)
Shin'ichi Sakuraki (Asahi University)
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- Economics, Business and Political Economy
Short Abstract
This panel examines coordination problems in Japan’s logistics system through truck transport, JR Freight rail logistics, and pallet standardization, arguing that current challenges arise from institutional fragmentation rather than capacity or technological shortages.
Long Abstract
This panel examines the structural challenges confronting Japan’s logistics system through three interrelated cases: truck transport, rail freight operated by JR Freight, and pallet standardization. Japanese logistics has long been regarded as a highly efficient and reliable system; however, in recent years, mounting pressures stemming from labor shortages, regulatory reforms, and environmental requirements have made institutional and organizational fragmentation increasingly visible. A defining feature of this panel is its conceptualization of these challenges not as simple shortages of transport capacity or technological delay, but as problems of coordination.
The first paper focuses on truck transport and analyzes the interaction between labor regulation and the industrial structure of the trucking sector. It demonstrates how the tightening of working-time regulations—symbolized by the so-called “2024 problem”—combined with Japan’s strong reliance on small and medium-sized operators, has intensified the fragmentation of transport capacity and increased the difficulty of coordinating logistics services.
The second paper examines institutional design and infrastructure governance in rail freight, with particular attention to JR Freight in the post-privatization era following the breakup of Japanese National Railways. While modal shift has been promoted as an environmentally sustainable transport strategy, the paper shows how institutional constraints—such as the separation of infrastructure ownership and operations—have hindered effective intermodal connectivity and coordination.
The third paper positions pallet standardization as both a material and institutional mechanism of coordination and explores why standardization has remained limited in Japan. It argues that insufficient alignment of interests among shippers, carriers, and receivers has increased transaction costs and impeded the overall optimization of logistics systems.
Taken together, the three papers demonstrate that the core of Japan’s logistics challenges lies not in an absolute lack of transport capacity, but in institutional misalignments that cut across labor regulation, market structure, infrastructure governance, and material standards. By using logistics as an analytical lens, this panel aims to offer a perspective for reconsidering the relationships among the state, the market, and society in contemporary Japan.
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed) | 本パネルは、日本の物流における構造的な調整問題を、トラック輸送、鉄道貨物（JR貨物）、パレット標準化という相互に関連する3つの事例を通じて検討する。日本の物流システムは高い効率性を有するとしばしば評価されてきたが、近年では労働力不足、輸送モードの分断、標準化の遅れが進行し、制度的・組織的な制約が顕在化している。労働規制、インフラ・ガバナンス、物的標準を統合的に捉えることで、本パネルは、効率性それ自体ではなく「調整（coordination）」こそが、現代日本の物流における中心的課題となっていると主張する。本パネルの知見は、物流ガバナンス、サプライチェーンのレジリエンス、比較政治経済に関する幅広い議論に貢献するものである。 |
Accepted papers
Paper short abstract
This paper examines how labor regulations and subcontracting structures jointly produce fragmentation in Japan’s trucking industry. It shows how regulatory reform intended to improve working conditions paradoxically deepens coordination failures in transport markets.
Paper long abstract
This paper analyzes how recent regulatory reforms interact with the fragmented industrial structure of Japan’s trucking industry and reshape coordination among firms, shippers, and drivers. Trucking carries the overwhelming majority of domestic freight in Japan, yet the sector is characterized by extreme atomization: a very large number of small and micro-enterprises linked through multilayer subcontracting chains. This structural feature conditions how labor regulations are implemented and how costs and risks are allocated along supply chains.
In this context, new working-hours regulations and enhanced compliance requirements have been introduced with the stated aim of improving labor conditions, enhancing safety, and addressing chronic driver shortages. The paper shows that these reforms generate heterogeneous effects across firm types. Large carriers and major shippers can reorganize operations, invest in digital management systems, and renegotiate contracts. In contrast, small carriers face rising administrative burdens, unstable demand, and increasing dependence on subcontracting relationships. Instead of eliminating overwork, regulatory pressure may cascade downward, shifting responsibility onto weaker actors.
The analysis combines policy documents, industry statistics, and qualitative interview materials from ongoing research to examine how price formation, load matching, and route allocation are influenced by these institutional changes. The paper argues that the core issue is not merely a lack of drivers or low productivity, but a problem of coordination failure across market and regulatory arenas. Freight rates do not easily internalize rising labor costs, and fragmented contracting structures impede collective adjustment.
By conceptualizing the trucking sector as a multilayer coordination system linking law, market organization, and everyday labor practices, the study contributes to debates on logistics and labor governance. It demonstrates how well-intentioned regulation can deepen inequalities and institutional stress when introduced into already fragmented systems. The findings have broader implications for discussions of the “2024 problem,” supply-chain resilience, and the political economy of essential services in contemporary Japan.
Paper short abstract
This paper examines how institutional and organizational fragmentation affects the coordination of rail freight infrastructure in Japan. Focusing on JR Freight and regional nodes, it highlights disconnections between national transport policy, local development strategies, and logistics practices.
Paper long abstract
This paper investigates how institutional and organizational fragmentation shapes the coordination of rail freight infrastructure in Japan, focusing on the evolving role of JR Freight and regional logistics nodes. Since the breakup of the Japanese National Railways, rail freight has operated within a distinctive institutional configuration that separates infrastructure ownership from freight operations. Although this model was expected to improve efficiency, it has also created complex governance challenges that span multiple actors and territorial scales.
The paper examines the interface between trunk rail corridors, inland freight terminals, seaports, and surrounding logistics parks. Network rationalization and terminal consolidation have reduced redundancy and improved cost efficiency in some respects, but they have also weakened connections to local industries and peripheral regions. At the same time, municipal governments promote logistics-led regional development, often without full alignment with national transport strategies or private sector investment plans. These misalignments lead to underused facilities in some locations and persistent bottlenecks in others.
Empirically, the study draws on policy debates, corporate data, and regional case studies to show how decisions about terminal location, compatibility, and intermodal transfer equipment depend on coordination across organizational boundaries. The paper argues that the central constraint on rail freight expansion is not simply low demand or the technical superiority of road transport, but fragmented governance and weak coordination between infrastructure providers, operators, shippers, and local governments.
By reframing modal shift and decarbonization as coordination problems, the paper highlights the political dimension of infrastructure planning. It shows how competing objectives—fiscal consolidation, regional revitalization, carbon reduction, and logistics efficiency—are pursued through institutions that are only partially aligned. The analysis contributes to broader research on multi-level governance and infrastructure politics by demonstrating how network effects and institutional design jointly shape the prospects of rail freight in contemporary Japan.
Paper short abstract
This paper analyzes pallet standardization in Japan and shows how incompatible material standards generate fragmentation in logistics systems. It argues that the lack of unified pallet sizes constrains intermodal transport and increases coordination costs across supply chains.
Paper long abstract
This paper examines pallet standardization as a material dimension of institutional coordination in Japanese logistics systems. Unlike regions where a dominant pallet size has been widely adopted, Japan continues to operate with multiple competing standards, most prominently the 1100×1100 and 1200×1000 formats. These standards emerged from distinct historical trajectories of domestic retail distribution, containerization, and sector-specific optimization. While each standard is rational within its own context, their coexistence imposes significant coordination costs on contemporary supply chains.
The analysis traces how incompatible pallet sizes affect warehouse layout, racking systems, forklift design, vehicle loading efficiency, and cross-border cargo flows. Firms engaged in intermodal and international logistics must maintain parallel pallet and container systems, increasing capital requirements and operational complexity. Load efficiency decreases due to mismatched dimensions, and additional handling generates both economic costs and occupational risks. Small and medium-sized enterprises are disproportionately affected because they lack the resources to invest in flexible equipment or pallet-pooling arrangements.
The paper argues that material standards should be understood as socio-technical institutions. They stabilize expectations, coordinate behavior, and structure investment, yet they can also entrench fragmentation when multiple standards persist without effective mechanisms for alignment. Policy initiatives promoting pallet standardization and pooling systems have made gradual progress, but change remains slow due to divided jurisdiction, conflicting industry interests, and the sunk costs embedded in existing equipment and facilities.
By drawing on examples from manufacturing and retail distribution, the paper demonstrates how seemingly mundane artifacts shape broader debates about efficiency, intermodality, and environmental performance. Standardization is not merely a technical engineering issue; it is embedded in organizational routines, regulatory frameworks, and power relations along the supply chain. Conceptualizing pallet incompatibility as a coordination problem provides new insight into how material infrastructures influence national logistics performance.