A study on the timing of Asian metropolitan railway development with motorization and its effect on CO2 emissions from transportation

In metropolitan areas of developing and emerging economies in Asia, a remarkable phenomenon of motorization with rapid economic growth is accelerating a continuous formation of auto-dependent urban structures. The delayed timing of urban railway introduction could contribute to a negative spiral of motorization, which could provoke a severe increase in CO₂ emissions from transportation sector. In this paper, we attempt to evaluate the timing of urban railway station development based on the level of automobile share and an analysis of the CO₂ emissions in the catchment areas of newly introduced urban railway stations in Asian metropolitan areas; Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia. The result quantitatively reveals that the earlier development of the stations in comparison to the progress of motorization tended to result in a statistically significant reduction of CO₂ emissions from transportation year-by-year in the catchment areas. In addition, this study demonstrates statistically that urban development harmonized with urban railway systems with a higher service frequency should be a key factor on the strategic realization of low-carbon urban forms along public transportation corridors.     

亚洲货币合作形态选择

结合亚洲面临的现实,提出了设立亚洲区域经济合作的货币体系,即设立亚洲货币单位、建立亚洲汇率联动机制,建立亚洲货币基金的构想。     

Airlines’ reaction to high-speed rail entries: Empirical study of the Northeast Asian market

We investigate the impact of the commencement of high-speed rail (HSR) services on airlines’ domestic available seats on affected routes in China, Japan, and South Korea. The study is based on a dataset covering the 1994–2012 period. We use the propensity score matching method to pair HSR affected routes with routes without HSR services. The difference-in-difference approach is used to estimate the impact of HSR entry. We find that HSR entries may, on average, lead to a more significant drop in airlines’ seat capacity in China than in Japan and Korea given similar HSR service speed. In China, HSR services with a maximum speed about 200 km/h can produce strong negative impacts on medium-haul air routes but induce more air seat capacity on long-haul routes. HSR services with a maximum speed of 300 km/h have little extra impact on medium-haul routes but a strong negative impact on long-haul routes. Finally, although HSR has a strong negative impact in Japan’s short-haul and medium-haul air markets, little impact is observed in its long-haul markets.     

Promoting intermodal freight transport through the development of dry ports in Asia: An environmental perspective

The volume of international trade and freight transport in Asia has witnessed fast growth in recent decades. The resulting environmental impact of freight transport operations has become a major cause of concern. Intermodal transport has gained prominence recently due to its potential to offer door-to-door service through the integration of various modes of transport in the logistics chain, improved coordination and services, and the development of intermodal interfaces. However, few studies have focused on this development in Asia.The development of intermodal transport requires transport links, nodes, and services. The development of dry ports, an important component of intermodal transport, could play a major role in promoting intermodal transport in Asia, including its twelve landlocked countries. Dry ports located in deep inland areas, as opposed to near the sea, would incorporate customs and other related facilities and rail links, as well as provide for transfer, transshipment, and distribution functions for cargo. By encouraging a modal shift, such dry ports would help to ease road traffic congestion and reduce emissions.This study reviews the status of intermodal freight transport in Asia from an environmental perspective. It examines intermodal transport opportunities presented by the development of inland dry ports in hinterland locations. This paper also reviews selected case studies of dry port development in Asia. Finally, we present the lessons to be learned for the promotion of intermodal freight transport from selected Asian countries as well as the policy options available.     

Estimation of cost and CO2 emissions with a sustainable cross-border supply chain in the automobile industry: A case study of Thailand and neighboring countries

CO₂ emissions are increasing because of the growth in the cross-border supply chain, which is leading the locations of assembly plants and suppliers to spread across a wider area. Given that one passenger vehicle needs more than 20,000 components and parts, the automobile industry exploits the cross-border supply chain. Recently, the free cross-border movement of people, goods, capital, and information has accelerated in Asia. Therefore, a sustainable cross-border supply chain is required to reduce both CO₂ emissions and cost. This study estimates total CO₂ emissions per vehicle including production and transportation processes in Thailand and neighboring countries and the change in CO₂ emissions based on future policy scenarios that consider the automobile market and locational conditions in 2030. The results show that locating production close to the place of consumption and the electricity emissions factors in each country should be considered.     

关于建立东北亚共同航运市场的研究

站在中国的角度,分析了东北亚航运存在的问题和建立中、日、韩共同航运市场在中国存在的障碍,并对如何解决、克服这些问题和障碍提出了措施。     

合作成就东北亚枢纽港群

阪神地震成就了釜山这个东北亚国际集装箱枢纽港的地位,大小洋山深水港的逐步启用,将有可能使上海成为中国真正的国际集装箱枢纽港。在这种情况下,大连、青岛、天津就不只是釜山的喂给港,还将成为上海的喂给港,三港也就更难成为东北亚枢纽港。大连、青岛、天津环渤海湾三大港是否有可能联合起来,打造东北亚的国际枢纽港群,则是本文探讨的主题。     

Traffic problems in Southeast Asia featuring the case of Cambodia's traffic accidents involving motorcycles

This article provides the background to the special issue by reviewing the status of traffic problems in South East Asian countries, and in particular, the case of Cambodia. The “Make Roads Safe” report by the Commission for Global Road Safety (2011) confirms traffic accidents as the primary cause of youth mortality worldwide. Thus, the United Nations declared the decade from 2011 to 2020 as the “UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020”, promoting road safety and to reduce the number of deaths in road accidents by 2020. Furthermore, the “Sustainable Development Goals” adopted in 2015 highlight the important role of sustainable transport in tackling the exclusion of vulnerable groups. On the other hand, the World Health Organization in 2015 indicate an increase in the death rate due to traffic accidents in low-income countries since 2000. Traffic accidents were already recognized as a social problem before the 2000s in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines. At the same time, other ASEAN member states such as Vietnam and Cambodia which have experienced rapid economic growth since the 2000s are now experiencing the seriousness of traffic problems. It is said that 70% of road accidents in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos involve motorcycles and three-wheelers, but despite this situation, the regulatory framework for motorcycles remains undeveloped. In the case of Cambodia, speeding by young people remains the major cause of road deaths and this can be explained by the fact that people can now travel at a higher speed because of road developments but remaining challenges related to underdeveloped traffic legislation, and limited public awareness and knowledge of road safety are overlooked. In 2010, the Cambodian National Road Safety Action Plan 2010–2020 was drafted, aiming to halve the number of deaths in traffic accidents in 2020. However, in reality, the number of road deaths did not decrease to the level anticipated in the action plan until 2016. In this article, the authors emphasize the importance of implementing the “three Es” namely Engineering, Enforcement and Education in developing countries such as Cambodia. In particular, the authors claim that the role of education to increase people's road safety awareness is neglected compared to the other two dimensions and thus, it is highly important to raise people's road safety awareness through education among the young people.     

冷战后中美在东亚地区的关系及展望

文章分析了冷战后特别是后金融危机时代,中美关系在东亚地区的态势—合作、竞争与冲突,提出了中美关系在东亚地区关系的定位—正常的大国关系,最后分析了中美关系前景及对我国政策制定的影响。