In the fiscal year 2023, Japan's public transport passenger volume increased to 27.58 billion trips. Japan is home to the world’s busiest station, Shinjuku, that handles more than three million passengers per day on average. Shinjuku, which is one of many stations located in or around Tokyo that exceed the one million daily passenger throughput landmark, is only one of the many examples of Japan’s incredible infrastructure. Such logistical feats are made possible by a highly developed public transport system that is spread across Japan’s urban areas.Â
Trains are efficient mass transportation vehicles
Japan’s domestic transportation handles tens of billions of passengers every year. The vast majority of the passenger volume is carried via domestic railway transportation. Tokyo alone has over 50 operating railway lines. Trains, dubbed Shinkansen (or bullet trains), also place first in long-distance domestic travel, transporting hundreds of millions of passengers, mostly between highly urbanized areas such as Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.Â
Ships transport goods while airplanes carry people
As an island nation, Japan relies on ships and airplanes to move people and goods inside and outside its borders. While most of the international shipment volume happens via maritime transportation, the vast majority of individuals traveling inbound and outbound to Japan use airplanes. ANA and JAL are the two major players in Japan’s aviation industry. The two companies are very dominant in domestic travel and are also responsible for a large share of inbound traveler transportation, carrying tens of millions of passengers per year. Â
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Statistics Bureau of Japan. (May 27, 2025). Total number of passengers carried via domestic transport in Japan from fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in billions) [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/
Statistics Bureau of Japan. "Total number of passengers carried via domestic transport in Japan from fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in billions)." Chart. May 27, 2025. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed July 21, 2026. /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/
Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2025). Total number of passengers carried via domestic transport in Japan from fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in billions). ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: July 21, 2026. /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/
Statistics Bureau of Japan. "Total Number of Passengers Carried via Domestic Transport in Japan from Fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in Billions)." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 27 May 2025, /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/
Statistics Bureau of Japan, Total number of passengers carried via domestic transport in Japan from fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in billions) ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/ (last visited July 21, 2026)
Total number of passengers carried via domestic transport in Japan from fiscal 2014 to 2023 (in billions) [Graph], Statistics Bureau of Japan, May 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: /statistics/626864/japan-total-number-public-transport-passengers/