The Literature AwardAwards and Grants
No.42 In 2020
Title：Beyond MaaS, The New Mobility Revolution Starting in Japan-The Future of Mobility and Cities-
Recipient：Yosuke Hidaka (Co-author), Kazuhiko Makimura (Co-author), Takekazu Inoue (Co-author), Keizo Inoue (Co-author)
Reason for award：
This book focuses on MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which has been attracting attention in recent years, and particularly on "Beyond MaaS," which has the possibility of integration with other industries.
The book is structured as follows: Chapters 1 to 2, which are the introductory part, provide a bird's eye view of the current state of MaaS, including papers and actual examples such as roadmaps and master plans by public organizations, and introduce the system structure, issues, and possibilities to the readers. Chapter 3 discusses the need to reconstruct the interrelationships among the existing players in the "business ecosystem" proposed by J. Moore to build a sustainable "Japanese MaaS" in the future. Then, in Chapter 4, the MaaS business is divided into three areas: (1) the basic construction area of MaaS, which is the provision of information and applications such as reservation and settlement, (2) the Deep MaaS area, which is the optimization of the transportation field, urban and regional transportation, and the creation of new mobility, and (3) the Beyond MaaS area, which is the collaboration between transportation and other industries and smart cities. The second half of the report is organized into three main areas: (1) the Deep MaaS area, which is about optimizing the transportation field, urban and regional transportation, and creating new mobility, and (2) the Beyond MaaS area, which is about a collaboration between transportation and other industries and smart cities.
In the second half of the book, for each of the main points listed in Chapter 4, Chapter 5 discusses the growth strategies of each transportation industry and the creation of value through new collaboration, and Chapter 6 discusses the relationship between MaaS and the exit strategy of CASE in the automobile industry. Chapter 7 and onwards focus on the potential of the "Beyond MaaS" business model, which goes beyond the transportation and automobile industries and integrates with all fields that make up a society, which is also the book's title. Chapter 7, in particular, delves into the possibilities of new collaboration and fusion with mobility by dividing each of the 15 industries into sections called "XX field x MaaS. The previous book, "A Game Change for All Industries beyond The Maas Mobility Revolution," described the keywords that would cause a game change in each field. The content of the book is interwoven with trends such as empirical models that would be realized two years after their creation, enabling readers to easily understand the merits of each field and the how current problems came about. In the final chapter, Chapter 8, based on the master plan of Google's smart city concept, the author discusses the future direction to be taken by comparing the current situation with the redesign of the city itself shortly after 2030, when the automated driving society is realized, and MaaS becomes widespread.
The book is co-authored by four authors, including Mr. Hidaka, and is very easy to read as the descriptions are based on the expertise of each author, and the overall tone is adjusted. Also, the publication structure of this book includes re-edited parts of articles published in "Nikkei X Trend," but they are re-edited to fit the overall structure of the book. Thus the consistency and logical structure of the book are solid.
As described above, this book provides a clear understanding of "Beyond MaaS," a powerful word that identifies the changes in the environment surrounding mobility, which has been called a once-in-a-century phenomenon. In recognition of the fact that this book is summarized with easy-to-understand structure and timely information as well as being intended for readers in a wide range of fields, I would like to recommend it as a worthy recipient of this year's Literature Award.
The book is structured as follows: Chapters 1 to 2, which are the introductory part, provide a bird's eye view of the current state of MaaS, including papers and actual examples such as roadmaps and master plans by public organizations, and introduce the system structure, issues, and possibilities to the readers. Chapter 3 discusses the need to reconstruct the interrelationships among the existing players in the "business ecosystem" proposed by J. Moore to build a sustainable "Japanese MaaS" in the future. Then, in Chapter 4, the MaaS business is divided into three areas: (1) the basic construction area of MaaS, which is the provision of information and applications such as reservation and settlement, (2) the Deep MaaS area, which is the optimization of the transportation field, urban and regional transportation, and the creation of new mobility, and (3) the Beyond MaaS area, which is the collaboration between transportation and other industries and smart cities. The second half of the report is organized into three main areas: (1) the Deep MaaS area, which is about optimizing the transportation field, urban and regional transportation, and creating new mobility, and (2) the Beyond MaaS area, which is about a collaboration between transportation and other industries and smart cities.
In the second half of the book, for each of the main points listed in Chapter 4, Chapter 5 discusses the growth strategies of each transportation industry and the creation of value through new collaboration, and Chapter 6 discusses the relationship between MaaS and the exit strategy of CASE in the automobile industry. Chapter 7 and onwards focus on the potential of the "Beyond MaaS" business model, which goes beyond the transportation and automobile industries and integrates with all fields that make up a society, which is also the book's title. Chapter 7, in particular, delves into the possibilities of new collaboration and fusion with mobility by dividing each of the 15 industries into sections called "XX field x MaaS. The previous book, "A Game Change for All Industries beyond The Maas Mobility Revolution," described the keywords that would cause a game change in each field. The content of the book is interwoven with trends such as empirical models that would be realized two years after their creation, enabling readers to easily understand the merits of each field and the how current problems came about. In the final chapter, Chapter 8, based on the master plan of Google's smart city concept, the author discusses the future direction to be taken by comparing the current situation with the redesign of the city itself shortly after 2030, when the automated driving society is realized, and MaaS becomes widespread.
The book is co-authored by four authors, including Mr. Hidaka, and is very easy to read as the descriptions are based on the expertise of each author, and the overall tone is adjusted. Also, the publication structure of this book includes re-edited parts of articles published in "Nikkei X Trend," but they are re-edited to fit the overall structure of the book. Thus the consistency and logical structure of the book are solid.
As described above, this book provides a clear understanding of "Beyond MaaS," a powerful word that identifies the changes in the environment surrounding mobility, which has been called a once-in-a-century phenomenon. In recognition of the fact that this book is summarized with easy-to-understand structure and timely information as well as being intended for readers in a wide range of fields, I would like to recommend it as a worthy recipient of this year's Literature Award.
Title：Japan's Road Policy : An Analysis from Economics and Political Science
Recipient：Kazuhiro Ota (Author)
Reason for award：
This book is a major work that paints a complete picture of Japan's postwar road policy and looks ahead to the future. The transportation infrastructure of roads, which is directly connected to the lives of citizens and economic activities, was once called "the essential element of national existence" by Herbert Krüger, a German legal scholar. From the formulation of plans for the development of expressways and general roads during the post-war reconstruction period to the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corporation and the conversion of road specific financial resources into general financial resources in this century, the issue has been the subject of various political debates.
The main feature of this book is that it combines the analytical methods of welfare economics and public choice theory with descriptions of facts and inferences in a comprehensive manner to calmly depict why the current road policy is the way it is, and what the new technological phase of automated driving could bring to it, while taking into account the author's past research achievements in transportation economics and his participation in practical business. The structure of the book is as follows: Introduction, which presents the basic perspective and sets up the problem; Chapter 1, which gives an overview of the history of road policy as the source of the current system; Part I, which deals with the maintenance policy and toll policy for expressways as a nationwide network; Part II, which covers the national maintenance policy for general roads, automobile-related taxes, and the road-specific revenue source system; and Part III, which focuses on the modification of road policy in the 2000s, such as the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corporation (JHPC) and the shift of road specific financial resources to general financial resources. Based on the discussion in Part 1 to Part III, the final chapter looks at the future of road policy.
The author presents three perspectives that run through the book: (1) an overview of the system and clarification of the policy principles behind it, (2) policy analysis by microeconomics (with an awareness of the limitations of focusing on the perspective of fairness), and (3) interpretation of political decision-making by public choice theory. Each of the chapters in Parts I through III is organized systematically, with each section consisting of "Philosophy, Objectives, and Systems," "Analysis and Evaluation," and "Decisions and Politics" that develop each of these in concrete terms. In combination with this systematicity, the book is an easily understood 415-page technical book that people with different specialties can read because of the appropriate arrangement of figures and tables in each chapter and section, including those prepared by the author himself, and the presentation of the interpretations of discussions in the Council and the Diet on the process of political decision-making.
In the final chapter, the author discusses how the maturation and popularization of automobile traffic have brought about difficulties in road policymaking (as symbolized by the frenzied politics of the Koizumi cabinet). In addition, with regard to future policy making, the author recommends the establishment of a "road trust organization" that is closer to an actual road construction site to clarify the relationship between benefits and burdens, as well as the relaxation of party restraints on Diet decisions. The author himself considers all of them to be "unfeasible" from the perspective of public choice theory as an analytical viewpoint. The book concludes with the prospect, if a "vertically integrated giant system" or a "hyper-auto company" appears with the progress of automated driving technology, a rational decision-making process in road policy may be created by negotiating with the company or entrusting it to the company.
This outlook is the perfect material to stimulate dialogue among various academic disciplines.
I would like to recommend this book as a worthy recipient of this year's Literature Award of IATSS, whose mission is to consider various issues related to traffic and safety in an interdisciplinary manner.
The main feature of this book is that it combines the analytical methods of welfare economics and public choice theory with descriptions of facts and inferences in a comprehensive manner to calmly depict why the current road policy is the way it is, and what the new technological phase of automated driving could bring to it, while taking into account the author's past research achievements in transportation economics and his participation in practical business. The structure of the book is as follows: Introduction, which presents the basic perspective and sets up the problem; Chapter 1, which gives an overview of the history of road policy as the source of the current system; Part I, which deals with the maintenance policy and toll policy for expressways as a nationwide network; Part II, which covers the national maintenance policy for general roads, automobile-related taxes, and the road-specific revenue source system; and Part III, which focuses on the modification of road policy in the 2000s, such as the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corporation (JHPC) and the shift of road specific financial resources to general financial resources. Based on the discussion in Part 1 to Part III, the final chapter looks at the future of road policy.
The author presents three perspectives that run through the book: (1) an overview of the system and clarification of the policy principles behind it, (2) policy analysis by microeconomics (with an awareness of the limitations of focusing on the perspective of fairness), and (3) interpretation of political decision-making by public choice theory. Each of the chapters in Parts I through III is organized systematically, with each section consisting of "Philosophy, Objectives, and Systems," "Analysis and Evaluation," and "Decisions and Politics" that develop each of these in concrete terms. In combination with this systematicity, the book is an easily understood 415-page technical book that people with different specialties can read because of the appropriate arrangement of figures and tables in each chapter and section, including those prepared by the author himself, and the presentation of the interpretations of discussions in the Council and the Diet on the process of political decision-making.
In the final chapter, the author discusses how the maturation and popularization of automobile traffic have brought about difficulties in road policymaking (as symbolized by the frenzied politics of the Koizumi cabinet). In addition, with regard to future policy making, the author recommends the establishment of a "road trust organization" that is closer to an actual road construction site to clarify the relationship between benefits and burdens, as well as the relaxation of party restraints on Diet decisions. The author himself considers all of them to be "unfeasible" from the perspective of public choice theory as an analytical viewpoint. The book concludes with the prospect, if a "vertically integrated giant system" or a "hyper-auto company" appears with the progress of automated driving technology, a rational decision-making process in road policy may be created by negotiating with the company or entrusting it to the company.
This outlook is the perfect material to stimulate dialogue among various academic disciplines.
I would like to recommend this book as a worthy recipient of this year's Literature Award of IATSS, whose mission is to consider various issues related to traffic and safety in an interdisciplinary manner.
Title：Integrated Regional Public Transport Policies: A New Era in Japan and Europe
Recipient：Kiyohito Utsunomiya
Reason for award：
This book is based on the author's published papers on regional public transport policies since 2013. It includes the results of his research activities on regional public transport initiatives in Austria and other European countries during his tenure at the Austrian Institute of Technology in 2017, and it discusses the future of integrated regional public transportation policies and systems in Japan. Focusing on regional cities with populations of less than one million people and regions around large cities, the book is a major work that discusses policy changes and incorporates quantitative analysis based on two themes, “Japan and Europe” and “systems and evidence.”
Specifically, it consists of the rationale for discussing regional public transport policy, the transition of regional public transport policy in Japan, including the search under the Basic Act on Transportation Policy after the amendment of deregulation policy, the transition of regional public transport policy in Europe mainly since the 21st century, a study on the concept of integration in regional public transport policy, an evaluation of Austria's regional public transport policy and financial support, a discussion of the value of regional public transport in light of the significance and limitations of cost-benefit analysis and an analysis of the measurement of value in regional railroads, a conceptualization of the relationship between social capital and regional public transport and its demonstration using macro data, evidence of the impact of regional public transport policies on social capital based on case studies in Japan and Austria, an analysis of the potential for increasing the number of users of regional public transport through transport policies using data from Germany, France and Japan, and a summary based on the above which is the realization of integrated regional public transportation policies for regional public transport.
As a characteristic of this book, first of all, the transition of regional public transport policies in Japan and European countries since 2000 is accurately described and explained in an easy-to-understand manner based on a large amount of data, which makes the book worthwhile not only for researchers but also for practitioners. Secondly, important concepts such as integration and social capital are also discussed in an easy-to-understand manner in the context of regional public transportation policies, citing many references. The content of the book is particularly helpful to the understanding of practitioners and novice scholars and also fully meets the perspectives of professional researchers. Furthermore, the book is characterized by its quantitative analysis using questionnaires and macro-statistical data. By adding a chapter on empirical analysis, the book specifically points out points that need to be considered in the field of regional public transportation policy from the perspective of data-based verification as well.
For researchers and practitioners involved in regional public transport policy, this book provides many lessons, such as the changes in policy over the past 20 years, how to learn from European cases, and methods of related policy analysis, as well as an opportunity to think about how integrated policy should be, without wavering from the point that it is not enough to improve public transport, but to seek public transport policy for the region.
In recognition of his empirical and scholarly summary of trends, issues, and challenges in regional public transportation policy, I recommend this author as a worthy recipient of the prize in this year's IATSS Literature Award.
Specifically, it consists of the rationale for discussing regional public transport policy, the transition of regional public transport policy in Japan, including the search under the Basic Act on Transportation Policy after the amendment of deregulation policy, the transition of regional public transport policy in Europe mainly since the 21st century, a study on the concept of integration in regional public transport policy, an evaluation of Austria's regional public transport policy and financial support, a discussion of the value of regional public transport in light of the significance and limitations of cost-benefit analysis and an analysis of the measurement of value in regional railroads, a conceptualization of the relationship between social capital and regional public transport and its demonstration using macro data, evidence of the impact of regional public transport policies on social capital based on case studies in Japan and Austria, an analysis of the potential for increasing the number of users of regional public transport through transport policies using data from Germany, France and Japan, and a summary based on the above which is the realization of integrated regional public transportation policies for regional public transport.
As a characteristic of this book, first of all, the transition of regional public transport policies in Japan and European countries since 2000 is accurately described and explained in an easy-to-understand manner based on a large amount of data, which makes the book worthwhile not only for researchers but also for practitioners. Secondly, important concepts such as integration and social capital are also discussed in an easy-to-understand manner in the context of regional public transportation policies, citing many references. The content of the book is particularly helpful to the understanding of practitioners and novice scholars and also fully meets the perspectives of professional researchers. Furthermore, the book is characterized by its quantitative analysis using questionnaires and macro-statistical data. By adding a chapter on empirical analysis, the book specifically points out points that need to be considered in the field of regional public transportation policy from the perspective of data-based verification as well.
For researchers and practitioners involved in regional public transport policy, this book provides many lessons, such as the changes in policy over the past 20 years, how to learn from European cases, and methods of related policy analysis, as well as an opportunity to think about how integrated policy should be, without wavering from the point that it is not enough to improve public transport, but to seek public transport policy for the region.
In recognition of his empirical and scholarly summary of trends, issues, and challenges in regional public transportation policy, I recommend this author as a worthy recipient of the prize in this year's IATSS Literature Award.
