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Masami Kubo, chairman of the Japan Harbor Transportation Association (Nikkokyo), gave an address to attendees at a meeting that it convened yesterday at a Tokyo hotel with three other organizations.
“In respect to policies for the strategic international container ports, efforts are being made to collect cargo not only from Japan but more extensively from other Asian economies as well,” he said. “New actions are being taken one after another, such as container terminals being operated collectively to enhance their transshipment capabilities, bonded system-based distribution processing and re-consolidation capacities being enhanced.” “I hope the government [of Japan] will continue to promote them,” he added.
“As for domestic and international affairs, the shipping industry is concerned that, at a time when Ukraine, Palestine and other are in disarray, rerouting ships around the Cape of Good Hope due to deteriorations in security in the Red Sea and transit restrictions in the Panama Canal, which has suffered severe water shortages, could have adverse impacts,” Kubo continued. “We are beginning to see signs of renewed global supply chain disruptions and ocean freight rate surges and containerships to and from Japan carrying relatively small volumes of shipments being adjusted.”
“A final package of policies for the strategic international container ports was unveiled in February,” the Nikkokyo chairman said. “Previous policies had been gone through and rebuilt, while the projects to upgrade feeder networks are bearing fruit.”
In respect to efforts to promote feeder transport to Japan’s strategic ports from other Asian countries and regions, Kubo indicated that he hopes Tokyo will deeply get involved in them.
