NHK Documentaries
Shinji Sogo - The Pioneer of the Shinkansen
2017 • E6 Feb 4, 2017 50m
Shinji Sogo was the 4th president of Japanese National Railways. With imagination and determination, he made sure that the Shinkansen bullet train service started in time for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The news brought attention from around the world and revived the railway industry. It also laid the groundwork for high-speed railways being planned and built in Europe, the US and Asia today. This program examines rare documents and firsthand accounts of how Sogo's leadership brought the ambitious Shinkansen project to fruition.