Airport concession in Japan: Current status, problems, and future directions

Abstract

While the privatization of airports has progressed around the world, Japan has witnessed a rapid increase in the application of concessions to airports. Concessions have been introduced in Japan under the conditions that Japan has a unique airport governance structure, no foreign companies have experience in airport development and operation, and there are no domestic professional airport operators. This has caused social problems such as poor initial response to typhoons at Kansai International Airport which was converted to concessions in 2016. In this paper, we examine the current status of airport concessions in Japan based on published data by airport administrators etc. and consider issues through interviews with related parties and social network analysis on Japan's concession market. We also present solutions or future prospects for problems such as the rigidity of airport operations caused by over-specified proposals, the monitoring system on the public side, risk sharing between the public and private sectors, and the difficulty of innovative airport operation and the cultivation of the airport operation industry. The implications of this paper's findings can serve as policy suggestions for improving future projects.