Maritime: Primarily on coastal seas. Inland Sea (Seto Naikai) serves major industrial areas of central Japan.
Railroads: In late 1980s, about 18,800 kilometers of routes run by Japan Railways Group; another 3,400 kilometers operated by private companies. Small, new companies financed with private and local government funds. Electric-powered Shinkansen "bullet" trains operate at speeds up to 240 kilometers per hour on special track. Key bridges and tunnels carrying trains and automotive transportation link four major islands.
Subways: Major cities served by full metro systems, of which Tokyo largest. Supplemented by light rail in suburbs.
Roads: 1,114,697 kilometers of roads in 1990; 69 percent paved. Extensive expressway and highway network.
Ports: Largest ports at Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kobe; other major facilities at Chiba, Hakodate, Kitakyushu, Kushiro, Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokkaichi.
Airports: International facilities at Tokyo (Narita and Haneda), Osaka, Nagoya, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, and Naha. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways major world carriers. Both, along with Japan Air System and South-West Air Lines, also serve domestic routes.
Telecommunications: World-class radio and television systems available to virtually all citizens. Persons living in remote and mountainous areas receive transmissions via satellite. About 64 million telephones in use in 1993.
Data as of January 1994