A ride with Tokyo Metro will start at ¥180 (US$1.34) from the spring, up from the current ¥170. This marks the first increase in nearly three decades, excluding consumption tax hikes.
Osaka Metro will also increase its starting fare by ¥10 in April 2023.
The changes represent one of the latest signs of the historic inflation sweeping across Japan.
Tokyo Metro’s and Osaka Metro’s passenger numbers were down by roughly half at one point in 2020 from 2019 as Japan urged residents to stay home and closed the door to foreign visitors. Average daily passengers on Kyoto’s subways fell 33% in fiscal 2020 to 260,000. Subway ridership in northern Japan’s Sendai remained 18% below fiscal 2019 levels in fiscal 2021.
The coronavirus and the resulting rise in telecommuting have also caused a demographic shift in cities, which for years enjoyed an influx of residents even as Japan’s overall population shrank.
The estimated population of Tokyo as of Jan 1 had fallen for the first time since 1996. In 2021, Sapporo and Yokohama saw their populations decline for the first time since World War II, and Sendai for the first time since 1989.
This has dealt a major blow to subway operators, which have relied on growing local populations and foreign tourists in recent years. Japan’s biggest subway systems turned a profit in fiscal 2019, with the exception of Sendai. Ten suffered a loss in fiscal 2020 – Sapporo for the first time in 15 years, Nagoya for the first time in 13, and Fukuoka for the first time in six.
“It’s only expected for the fare to increase if the number of passengers decreases,” said Shigeru Morichi, an adjunct professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo and an expert in transportation policies.
“Customers want better service” even if it means paying more, he said, pointing to the new double-decker first-class cars to be added to express trains on Tokyo’s Chuo train line.
Many other private train operators have also announced hikes. Nishi-Nippon Railroad, which serves the Fukuoka area, will raise fares across the board by ¥10 in March 2023.
Kintetsu Railway, serving the greater Osaka region, plans an average 17% increase to base fares in April. Nankai Electric Railway, which mainly serves areas south of Osaka, is seeking approval from the transportation ministry to raise rates.
But publicly run subways face higher hurdles since they not only need a green light from the transportation ministry but also revisions to local ordinances.
Some are reducing service instead for now. Kyoto cut the number of subway trains running between 11am and 2pm by 10% in December. Sendai will reduce trains by 10% in July.