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Originally Posted By: Black Mountain
There is a new Tomei expressway being built to connect Tokyo and Osaka. For almost the entire length as it passes through Shizuoka (and probably other prefectures) it runs exactly parallel to the existing Tomei expressway. It is located less than 5 kms north of the existing Tomei and at certain points they are within a few 100 meters of each other. If you haven't driven on it before the existing Tomei is a massive expressway. The only time I've seen it congested is during peak holidays (same as any highway anywhere in Japan). Of the 100s of times I've driven on it I've never encountered a single traffic jam. The projected completion date of the new Tomei is 2020, same as that silly Hokkaido shinkansen. In yen the cost is 70 trillion.

You can find a lot of info about it by googling Tomei Expressway.


So what exactly is the justification of making the thing?
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Yeah, jobs... but some people think that the Tomei is too congested. On long weekends and national holidays that might be true but on regular days that's just not the case. So during Obon when there is usually one 30 kilometer long traffic jam they'll be two 15 kilometer long traffic jams and on other days it'll be even clearer than normal. $70 billion for a couple of useful days each year. Personally I think if someone is stupid enough to drive during peak hours they deserve to be stuck in traffic.

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Commentators seem to be pointing to a Kan win albeit with perhaps fewer members of the govt backing him than Ozawa.

 

Have these guys been doing any work, you know, for the people, these last 2 weeks? I know they have been doing lots of fist-clenching and spouting bullshit, but what about working for the peeps.

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Read a good article in the Asahi Shimbun about the fracticitious (sic) nature of political parties is starting to destroy the main parties from within, in particular the LDP.

Will see if wife still has the newspaper and will scan later.

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