Aru kikan joshi

In 1962, the service schedule of the National Railways became increasingly congested due to transport of materials and Shinkansen deployment in preparation for the Olympics, and intensified labor schedules were imposed. On May 2 of that year a major accident occurred at Mikawashima. In order to wipe away the bad impression of the accident, the JNR authorities planned a film to promote the safety of the railways. The film traces a day in the life of an engineer’s assistant.

“The subject of this film was the promotion of a new device to avoid accidents. However, I had seen that the true cause of the accident was a congested service schedule, and I consciously placed emphasis on the depiction of the actual work of the engineer and his assistant, and of those who had chosen the route and were responsible for safety on the line on which the accident took place. As director I went over to the JNR Workers’ Union, which had officially taken the blame, and I earned their understanding and cooperation for a story analytically depicting their work."
(Tsuchimoto Noriaki)