A Special Summer Seminar for International Students: "Railway Systems and Urban Development of Mega Cities 2022," was held on Sunday, September 4 and Monday, September 5, as an intensive course including site visits. This seminar was jointly organized by the University of Tokyo (Department of Civil Engineering) , with the corporation of Japan Railway
Technical Service(JARTS), East Japan Railway Company, Mitsui Fudosan Co.,Ltd., Tokyo Metro Co.,Ltd., Tokyu Railways Co.,Ltd., and Association for Planning and Transportation Studies,. The third event in the series following 2015 and 2017, was attended by a total of 40 participants, including 36 international students and 4 Japanese students.
On the first day, two sessions were held at GRIPS. Session 1 was a lecture by Professor Hironori Kato and Professor Daisuke Fukuda of the University of Tokyo on the theme of "Overview of Railway System and Urban Development in Tokyo,". Session 2 was presentations by representatives of Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute, Mitsui Fudosan, JR East, Tokyu Railways, and Tokyo Metro on the theme of "Changes Induced by the Pandemic and Future Strategies. Top-class experts and practitioners explained how the huge city of Tokyo has developed together with its railroads and what kind of technologies and systems support this development. After the lectures, many participants actively discussed with the lecturers.
On the second day, the participants were divided into two groups for site visits. The first group visited Nihonbashi, Central business/commercial area, where Mitsui Fudosan is heavily involved in redevelopment, and General Training Center, Tokyo Metro in Shinkiba, while the second group visited the JR East Shinagawa Terminal Station and Minami-machida Granbury Park, a redevelopment area by Tokyu Corporation and Machida City. This was a great opportunity for international students to learn about Tokyo comprehensively and from a bird's eye view, which has developed along with the development of railroads, and the various technical and policy measures for public transportation and cities that support this metropolis, while also learning about the historical and cultural background of the area.
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