Achievement of privatization objectives of Japanese expressway companies

Abstract

In 2005, Japan’s four road-related public corporations were privatized into expressway companies to achieve three main objectives: steady repayment of interest-bearing debt, early and inexpensive construction of expressways, and provision of various services. Currently, all shares of the three Nippon Expressway Companies are owned by the Japanese government; however, the government plans to consider listing its shares in the future. To promote discussion on further privatization of expressway companies, examining the status of the original objectives and the factors that have contributed to their achievement or non-achievement is imperative. By analyzing the Japan Expressway Holding and Debt Repayment Agency agreement documents and investor relations information, this study clarifies the achievement status of the aforementioned objectives and identifies factors that have contributed to their attainment. The findings indicate that while the objective of repaying interest-bearing debt has been achieved, there is still ambiguity regarding the early and inexpensive construction of the expressway objective. Furthermore, the objective of providing various services has not been achieved. The results indicate that identifying the factors related to the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives can help further privatize these companies more efficiently.