{"id":180686,"date":"2016-01-10T16:55:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-10T16:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=180686"},"modified":"2016-01-10T16:55:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-10T16:55:48","slug":"japan-keeps-defunct-train-station-running-for-just-one-passenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/01\/japan-keeps-defunct-train-station-running-for-just-one-passenger\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan keeps defunct train station running for just one passenger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For years, there\u2019s only been one passenger waiting at the Kami-Shirataki train station in the northernmost island of Hokkaido, Japan: A high-school girl, on her way to class.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The train stops there only twice a day\u2014once to pick up the girl and again to drop her off after the school day is over.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It sounds like a Hayao Miyazaki film. But according to CCTV News, it was a decision that Japan Railways\u2014the group that operates the country\u2019s railway network\u2014made more than three years ago.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At that time, ridership at the Kami-Shirataki station had dramatically fallen because of its remote location, and freight service had ended there as well.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan Railways was getting ready to shut the station down for good\u2014until they noticed that it was still being used every day by the high-schooler.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So they decided to keep the station open for her until she graduates. The company\u2019s even adjusted the train\u2019s timetable according to the girl\u2019s schedule. The unnamed girl is expected to graduate this March, which is when the station will finally be closed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/japan-train-station.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-180689 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/japan-train-station.png\" alt=\"japan train station\" width=\"535\" height=\"299\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">People are tipping their hats to the Japanese government for making education a top priority. \u201cWhy should I not want to die for a country like this when the government is ready to go an extra mile just for me,\u201d one commenter wrote on CCTV\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis is the meaning of good governance penetrating right to the grassroot level. Every citizen matters. No Child left behind!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others, like the creator behind this YouTube video, grieve over the struggling railways of rural Japan. With the country\u2019s record-low birthrate, aging population, and the threat of losing a third of its population by 2060, Japan faces a number of crises including a surplus of vacant housing and a shrinking workforce. The nation\u2019s railroad system is being hit by these shifts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan\u2019s impressively efficient high-speed rails have continued to expand to the outskirts of the country, rendering many of Japan\u2019s older, low-tech railways obsolete. Kami-Shirataki station, for example, sits in the town of Engaru in the rural part of Hokkaido, which lost at least 20 rail lines in the past few decades, according to Fortune.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But if this story of a young girl and her special connection to the Kami-Shiratki station is any indicator, Japan\u2019s disappearing rural railroads will be remembered for their service to even the most remote parts of the country.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Source: Citylab<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, there\u2019s only been one passenger waiting at the Kami-Shirataki train station in the northernmost island of Hokkaido, Japan: A high-school girl, on her way to class. The train stops there only twice a day\u2014once to pick up the girl and again to drop her off after the school day is over. It sounds [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[117],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Japan keeps defunct train station running for just one passenger - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/01\/japan-keeps-defunct-train-station-running-for-just-one-passenger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japan keeps defunct train station running for just one passenger - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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