Japanese Expressways

Expressways of Japan 高速道路
NEXCO region map
System information
Maintained by NEXCO East (Eastern Region), NEXCO Central (Central region) and NEXCO West (Western Region)
Length:	8,428 km (5,237 mi)
Formed:	1963
Highway names
Expressways	nn Expressway
System links
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

The expressways (高速道路 kōsoku-dōro, lit. high-speed road) of Japan make up a large network of freeway-standard toll roads.

Following World War II, Japan's economic revival led to a massive increase in personal automobile use. However the existing road system was inadequate to deal with the increased demand; in 1956 only 23% of national highways were paved, which included only two thirds of the main Tokyo-Osaka road (National Route 1).

In April 1956 the Japan Highway Public Corporation (JH) was established by the national government with the task of constructing and managing a nationwide network of expressways. In 1957 permission was given to the corporation to commence construction of the Meishin Expressway linking Nagoya and Kobe, the first section of which opened to traffic in 1963.

In addition to the national expressway network administered by JH, the government established additional corporations to construct and manage expressways in urban areas. The Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation (responsible for the Shuto Expressway) was established in 1959, and the Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation (responsible for the Hanshin Expressway) was established in 1962. By 2004 the lengths of their networks had extended to 283 kilometres (175.8 mi) and 234 kilometres (145.4 mi) respectively.

In 1966 a plan was formally enacted for a 7,600 kilometres (4,722.4 mi) national expressway network. Under this plan construction of expressways running parallel to the coastlines of Japan would be given priority over those traversing the mountainous interior. In 1987, the plan was revised to extend the network to 14,000 kilometres (8,699.2 mi). In April 2012, completed sections of the network totaled 8,050 kilometres (5,002.0 mi)

In October 2005 JH, the Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation, the Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation, and the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Authority (managing three fixed-link connections between Honshū and Shikoku) were privatized under the reform policies of the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The expressway network of JH was divided into three companies based on geography - East Nippon Expressway Company (E-NEXCO), Central Nippon Expressway Company (C-NEXCO), and West Nippon Expressway Company (W-NEXCO). The Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation transferred its authority to the Metropolitan Expressway Company, while the Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation transferred its authority to the Hanshin Expressway Company. The Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Authority became the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company, whose operations are planned to eventually be absorbed into those of W-NEXCO.

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