Editing Shinkansen (section)

=== Economics ===
The Shinkansen has had a significant beneficial effect on Japan's business, economy, society, environment and culture beyond mere construction and operational contributions.<ref name="jrtr-okada">{{cite web |title=Features and Economic and Social Effects of The Shinkansen |url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr03/f09_oka.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110165031/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr03/f09_oka.html |archive-date=10 January 2011 |access-date=30 November 2009 |publisher=Jrtr.net}}</ref> The resultant time savings alone from switching from a conventional to a high-speed network have been estimated at 400 million hours, and the system has an economic contribution of {{JPY|500 billion}} per year.<ref name="jrtr-okada" /> That does not include the savings from reduced reliance on imported fuel, which also has [[national security]] benefits. Shinkansen lines, particularly in the very crowded coastal [[Taiheiyō Belt]] [[megalopolis (city type)|megalopolis]], met two primary goals:

* Shinkansen trains reduced the congestion burden on regional transportation by increasing throughput on a minimal land footprint, therefore being economically preferable compared to modes (such as airports or highways) common in less densely populated regions of the world. 
* As rail was already the primary urban mode of passenger travel, from that perspective it was akin to a [[sunk cost]]; there was not a significant number of motorists to convince to switch modes. The initial megalopolitan Shinkansen lines were profitable and paid for themselves. Connectivity rejuvenated rural towns such as [[Kakegawa, Shizuoka|Kakegawa]] that would otherwise be too distant from major cities.<ref name="jrtr-okada" />

However, upon the introduction of the 1973 Basic Plan the initial prudence in developing Shinkansen lines gave way to political considerations to extend the mode to far less populated regions of the country, partly to spread these benefits beyond the key centres of [[Kantō region|Kanto]] and [[Kinki]]. Although in some cases regional extension was frustrated by protracted land acquisition (sometimes influenced by the cancellation of the Narita Shinkansen following fierce protests by locals), over time Shinkansen lines were built to relatively sparsely populated areas with the intent to disperse the population away from the capital.

Such expansion had a significant cost. JNR, the national railway company, was already burdened with subsidizing unprofitable rural and regional railways. It then assumed Shinkansen construction debt until the government corporation eventually owed some {{JPY|28 trillion}}, contributing to it being regionalised and privatized in 1987.<ref name="jrtr-kakumoto">{{cite web |url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr22/F23_Kakumoto.html |title=Sensible Politics and Transport Theories? |publisher=Jrtr.net |access-date=30 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606151933/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr22/F23_Kakumoto.html |archive-date=6 June 2009 }}</ref> The privatized JRs eventually paid {{JPY|9.2 trillion}} to acquire JNR's Shinkansen network.<ref name="jrtr-okada" />

Following privatization, the JR group of companies have continued Shinkansen network expansion to less populated areas, but with far more flexibility to [[Corporate spin-off|spin-off]] unprofitable railways or cut costs than in JNR days. An important factor is the post [[Japanese asset price bubble|bubble]] [[zero interest-rate policy]] that allows JR to borrow huge sums of capital without significant concern regarding [[Amortization schedule|repayment timing]].

A [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] study found that the presence of a Shinkansen line had improved housing affordability by making it more realistic for lower-income city workers to live in exurban areas much further away from the city, which tend to have cheaper housing options. That in turn helps the city to "decentralise" and reduce city property prices.<ref>{{cite web |last=Eaton |first=Joe |title=High-Speed Rail Helped Keep Housing Affordable in Japan. Could It Do the Same for California? |url=https://psmag.com/economics/high-speed-rail-means-low-cost-housing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015014529/https://psmag.com/economics/high-speed-rail-means-low-cost-housing |archive-date=15 October 2021 |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=Pacific Standard |date=28 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>