A Geographical Approach to Domestic Marine Transportation in Japan

Abstract

The domestic marine transportation in Japan is basically to connect the ports in the coastal industrial areas, the ports for ore and coal shipping, and those of metropolitan areas. The sea areas most frequently used for such sea-born traffic service are the Inland Sea of Japan and the sea along the southern coasts of the Central and Western Japan. The Japan Sea and the sea areas around the Northern Japan are less utilized for marine transportation.Auxiliary motor-sailing vessels and small-sized steamships constitute the major means of marine transportation in the Inland Sea which is the center of Japan's sea-born traffic serivce. On the contrary, larger ships are used along the coast of the Japan Sea and the waters of Northern Japan, where meteorological conditions are less favorable and port facilities are inadequate.Liner service has developed most extensively in the Inland Sea with the Port of Osaka as the center. On the other hand, the port of Tokyo is the center of the Eastern Japan. There are differences between these two districts in regard to the size of vessels, manner of cargo gathering and the kinds of goods to be handled.In tramper service or tanker transportation of oil, coal, ballast, etc., vessels are distributed with commission in proportion to the distance. The sea routes of these vessels generally lie along the Pacific coasts where the manufacturing industries are most prosperous. Steel transportation lines are interlaced in this part of the country.New forms of vessels, which may be called a modernization in marine transportation are developing most remarkably in the Inland Sea.